Familien-SCOUT: Comprehensive Support for Families With a Parent Suffering From Cancer

When a parent with minor children falls ill with cancer, it is extremely stressful for all of the family members, including the partner and children. Familiar everyday routines are often disrupted even at an early stage, and for a prolonged period. Financial difficulties, the threat represented by the uncertain course of the disease, and worries about the children's future have a cumulative effect. The affected families are thereby pushed to their limits organizationally and emotionally. The burden involved tends to be underestimated, and secondary psychological conditions often develop among all the family members. They often do not have adequate access to support.

The aim of this project is to establish a care management system that provides support for families with underage children in which one parent is seriously ill. In order to reduce the burden on families, "family SCOUTS" are to be used who can provide advice and information at an early stage. They are intended to encourage families to discuss things openly, and they should also facilitate access to all the support services available.

The project will evaluate whether the use of family SCOUTS reduces the burden on the family in comparison with families who do not have a family SCOUT. For this purpose, investigations will be carried out before and after the family SCOUTS are deployed. Standardized questionnaires, interviews, and routine data from the participating health-insurance companies will provide the basic data.