ACT-CSP for Family Caregivers of Palliative Care Patients
- Conditions
- Caregiver Burden
- Interventions
- Behavioral: ACT-CSP
- Registration Number
- NCT06221189
- Lead Sponsor
- The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
- Brief Summary
The goal of the study is to test the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary efficacy of an acceptance and commitment therapy for supporting caregiver programme (ACT-CSP) on reduction of caregiver burden, anxiety and depressive symptoms and enhancement of caregiving self-efficacy, resilience and quality of life by ACT when compared to usual care, for caregivers of palliative care patients.
- Detailed Description
This study will employ a pilot randomized controlled trial recruiting caregivers of palliative care patients to receive either a 3-week acceptance and commitment therapy for supporting caregiver programme (ACT-CSP) plus usual care (n = 15) or usual care only (n = 15). The components of acceptance and commitment therapy process will be emphasized in the intervention programme, which include perspective taking, self-as-context and defusion (i.e. recognizing worry thoughts as thoughts only), identifying values and acceptance of present-moment experience with respect to the values, and committed action. The ACT-CSP will be delivered by a trained ACT facilitator. Participants will be followed up at Week 6 and Week 8 after recruitment to collect data for assessing the study objectives.
Recruitment & Eligibility
- Status
- WITHDRAWN
- Sex
- All
- Target Recruitment
- Not specified
- Aged ≥ 18;
- Self- or patient-identified as a family caregiver of an adult patient receiving palliative care at the study site
- Have been taking care of the patient in the past 3 months;
- Able to communicate in Cantonese at the time of recruitment;
- Have access to internet and videoconferencing device such as mobile phone;
- Have caregiver burden as measured by Caregiver Strain Index (CSI) ≥ 7.
- Mentally incompetent (Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) < 23),
- Participating in regular psychosocial interventions.
Study & Design
- Study Type
- INTERVENTIONAL
- Study Design
- PARALLEL
- Arm && Interventions
Group Intervention Description ACT-CSP ACT-CSP Three sessions of acceptance and commitment therapy.
- Primary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method The Chinese version of the 13-item Caregiver Strain Index Baseline, Week 6 and Week 8 Items are rated on a yes (1) or no (0) response, with the total score ranges from 0-13 and higher scores indicating higher caregiver burden
- Secondary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method The 10-item Chinese version of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale Baseline, Week 6 and Week 8 The overall scores range 0-40, with higher scores indicating higher levels of resilience
The Chinese version of the 18-item modified Caregiver Inventory Baseline, Week 6 and Week 8 The scale covers 3 dimensions: Care of the Care Recipient (7 items), Managing information and Self-care (7 items), and Managing emotional interaction with care recipient (4 items). The first two dimensions have scores ranging from 7 to 63 while the last dimension has scores ranging from 4 to 36, with higher scores indicating higher levels of self-efficacy in that dimension.
The Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4) Baseline, Week 6 and Week 8 The scale scores range from 0 to 12, with higher scores indicating higher levels of anxiety and depression.
The 10-item version of the Singapore caregiver quality of life Baseline, Week 6 and Week 8 The overall scores range 0-40, with higher scores indicating higher levels of quality of life