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Taking Time to Connect: A Study of Programs for Hispanic Mothers Diagnosed With Cancer and Their Children

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Cancer Survivorship
Interventions
Behavioral: Conexiones
Behavioral: Taking Time
Registration Number
NCT03951454
Lead Sponsor
New Mexico State University
Brief Summary

This NCI-funded randomized clinical trial (RCT) will test the short-term efficacy of Conexiones, a culturally adapted cancer education program designed to help Hispanic mothers diagnosed with cancer and their children to cope with cancer.

Detailed Description

The purpose of the proposed study is to test the short-term efficacy of a cancer parenting education program for diagnosed child-rearing Hispanic mothers, called Conexiones. This program was culturally adapted from a parenting program previously tested for efficacy in a Phase III, 6-state randomized clinical trial. However, the original program was tested on primarily non-Hispanic White (NHW) mothers with breast cancer. The Conexiones program represents a culturally adapted version of the original parenting program and is now ready for testing with Hispanic mothers living in the Border States of New Mexico and Texas. Eligible women will be diagnosed within the last 2 years with a primary, non-advanced cancer (stages 0-III) of any type and will be mothers of a child 5-17 years of age. Study participants will be recruited from medical providers, local channels (e.g. community health agencies, Community Health Worker networks, social media), and through self-referral in the recruitment counties. After completing signed informed consent and baseline measures, mothers will be randomized to an experimental or control group. All program materials/delivery are available in English and Spanish. All program education and data collection is conducted entirely by telephone so that the women can participate within the comfort of their homes and at times convenient for them. The experimental group will receive 5 fully scripted telephone-delivered educational sessions every 2 weeks by specially trained patient educators. The control group will receive "Taking Time," a NCI cancer education booklet, and 1 scripted telephone-delivered session with a patient educator. Assessments will occur at 3 months post-baseline for all participants and at 6 months post-baseline for 66% of participants. Post-intervention measures consist of standardized questionnaires with well-established validity and reliability, all available in Spanish. Linear Mixed Models will be used to analyze outcomes within an intent to treat analysis.. With an estimated Effect size of 0.52 for the primary outcome measure of the child's behavioral-emotional adjustment, the investigators need to retain a total sample size of 116 (58/group) for efficacy analysis. The investigators plan to enroll 156 eligible mothers, allowing for an expected 25% attrition rate from all causes. Study results will be essential as a next step in testing Conexiones with other Hispanic subgroups in a larger trial and readying the program for wider testing and dissemination to provider and non-profit organizations serving Hispanic parents with cancer throughout the United States.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
Female
Target Recruitment
43
Inclusion Criteria
  • Hispanic women
  • Diagnosed with primary, non-metastatic cancer (stage 0, I, II, or III) of any type in the past 2 years
  • Has a child 5 to 17 years old living at home and who knows about their mother's cancer
  • Lives in New Mexico or Texas
  • Has ready access to a telephone
  • Can read and write in English or Spanish
Exclusion Criteria
  • Has a secondary and/or recurrent cancer diagnosis
  • Diagnosed with basal or squamous cell carcinoma
  • Not able to read or write in English or Spanish
  • Does not have ready access to a telephone
  • Her child is not aware of the mother's cancer diagnosis
  • Her child has learning challenges that would prevent him/her from engaging in a conversation with their mother

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
ConexionesConexiones5 telephone sessions of Conexiones, with each session delivered 2 weeks apart across a total period of 8 weeks
Taking TimeTaking Time1 telephone session consisting of a scripted protocol guiding participants through the NCI's Taking Time Booklet.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL)3 months

A mother-reported scale of a broad range of behavior problems in children ages 6-18; Response options range from 0 to 2 from "Not True (as far as you know)" to "Somewhat or Sometimes True" to "Very True or Often True

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Parenting Skills Checklist1 hour

Assesses the interactional behaviors mothers used to assist their child to disclose, discuss, and cope with the breast cancer; 2 subscales (Elicitation subscale, Connecting \& Coping subscale); 8 items; 6 point Likert-type scale (0-Never; 5-All of the time)

Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D)7 days

Measures maternal depressed mood; 15 items measured on a 4 point Likert-type scale (1 -Rarely or none of the time; 4-Most or all of the time)

Cancer Self-Efficacy Scale (CASE)1 hour

Three subscales (Help Child, Deal \& Manage, and Stay Calm) measure parenting self-efficacy; 28 items; 11 point Likert-type scale (0-not at all confident; 10-Very Confident)

Family-Peer Relationship Scale (FPRQ)3 months

Measures parenting quality using 7 items that assess interpersonal communication between the mother and child; includes 2 subscales (Disclosure of Negative Feelings and Disclosure of Bad Things Happening); 5 point Likert-type scale (0-Never talks about it; 4-Always talks about it)

Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)1 hour

Measures maternal anxiety; 20 items; 4 point Likert-type scale (1-Not at all; 4-Very much so)

Trial Locations

Locations (5)

New Mexico State University

🇺🇸

Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States

Memorial Medical Center-Cancer Center

🇺🇸

Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States

The Hospitals of Providence

🇺🇸

El Paso, Texas, United States

University Medical Center of El Paso

🇺🇸

El Paso, Texas, United States

Mays Cancer Center, UT Health San Antonio

🇺🇸

San Antonio, Texas, United States

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