A Finding Balance Writing Intervention for Older Bereaved Caregivers

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Grief
• Interventions: Behavioral: Writing Intervention

• Registration Number: NCT01416779
• Lead Sponsor: University of Saskatchewan

Brief Summary

The overall purpose of this study is to develop and pilot-test a theory-based psychosocial supportive "finding balance" intervention for older, bereaved spousal caregivers of a palliative cancer patient.

Detailed Description

Research devoted to determining the efficacy of bereavement interventions remains a top priority. The development of theory-based, acceptable and feasible psychosocial interventions would begin to address the needs of family caregivers. A prominent theory of coping with bereavement, Stroebe and Schut's Dual Process Model, describes oscillation between loss-oriented and restoration-oriented coping; having a balance between these processes predicted more positive outcomes for older bereaved spouses. Similarly, the process of "finding balance" emerged as a first step in the search for new hope in the PI's grounded theory research with older bereaved family caregivers. They described the importance and difficulty of "finding balance" as they recovered from caregiving and struggled to find a new meaning and purpose for their lives after the loss of a spouse to cancer. An intervention focused on "finding balance" provides an innovative and promising approach to guiding the development of a theory-based psychosocial intervention for family caregivers who become bereaved. In clinical work a highly focused writing intervention has shown important benefits (personal communication, Dr. Robert Neimeyer, March 4, 2009). A validated tool to measure the effectiveness of an intervention to find balance does not exist, however valid existing measures of hope, grief, and an inventory of balance based on the Dual Process Model will be used as proxies. Therefore, the overall purpose of this study is to develop and pilot-test a theory-based psychosocial supportive "finding balance" intervention for older, bereaved spousal caregivers of a palliative cancer patient.

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2011-02
• Study First Submitted: 2011-02-07
• Study First Submitted QC: 2011-08-12
• Study First Posted: 2011-08-15
• Primary Completion: 2012-06
• Study Completion: 2012-06
• Status Verified: 2012-07
• Last Update Submitted: 2012-07-15
• Last Update Posted: 2012-07-17

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 23

Inclusion Criteria

• women and men, ages 60 and over, who previously resided with and provided care for a spouse with terminal cancer who died within the last year, English speaking, and freely consenting to be involved in the study.

Exclusion Criteria

• will be those cognitively impaired, non-autonomous, or not able to give a free and informed consent, as determined by the registered nurse research assistant on initial contact.

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: SINGLE_GROUP

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Writing Group	Writing Intervention	This group will receive the writing intervention.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Grief	2 weeks	Herth Hope Index, Hogan Grief Scale, Inventory of Daily Widowed Life, Finding Balance Scale

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

University of Saskatchewan; 🇨🇦 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada