Meaning Centered Psychotherapy for Palliative Care Patients (MCP-PC)

Not Applicable

• Conditions: Palliative Care
• Interventions: Behavioral: Meaning Centered Psychotherapy

• Registration Number: NCT03612050
• Lead Sponsor: Fordham University

Brief Summary

This randomized, controlled trial evaluates the effectiveness of an adaptation of a well-established brief, structured existential psychotherapy (Meaning Centered Psychotherapy) specifically tailored to the needs of palliative care patients (MCP-PC). Terminally ill patients with cancer who have been hospitalized in a palliative care hospital will be randomly assigned to either MCP-PC or enhanced usual care. Patients will complete a very short battery of self-report measures before the 3-session intervention, and again 2 and 4 weeks later to determine whether treatment has bolstered spiritual and psychological well-being and improved quality of life.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2018-03-15
• Study First Submitted QC: 2018-08-01
• Study First Posted: 2018-08-02
• Status Verified: 2021-08
• Last Update Submitted: 2021-08-24
• Last Update Posted: 2021-08-30
• Study Start: 2022-01-01
• Primary Completion: 2023-09-30
• Study Completion: 2023-12-31

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: UNKNOWN
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 80

Inclusion Criteria

• Terminal illness with life expectancy of less than 6 months; hospitalized at a palliative care facility in Bronx NY, English speaking

Exclusion Criteria

• Cognitive impairment or severe psychiatric symptoms that preclude informed consent or participation in treatment.

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Enhanced Usual Care	Meaning Centered Psychotherapy	facilitate any clinical interventions
Meaning Centered Psychotherapy	Meaning Centered Psychotherapy	raise patients' sense of meaning/purpose

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Spiritual Well Being	Through study completion (approx 6 weeks)	Overall spiritual well-being as measured through the self-report FACIT Spiritual Well Being scale

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Hopelessness	Through study completion (approx 6 weeks)	Self-report rating scale, the Hopelessness Assessment in Illness scale
Acceptance of Death	Through study completion (approx 6 weeks)	Subscale derived from the Life Attitude Profile, a self-report measure of meaning and purpose
Health related Quality of life	Through study completion (approx 6 weeks)	Single item rating of overall quality of life derived from the McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire
Desire for hastened death	Through study completion (approx 6 weeks)	Abbreviated version of the Schedule of Attitudes towards Hastened Death, a measure of desire for hastened death