Clinical trial · Interventional
CHESS Caregivers Study: Web-based Support for Informal Caregivers in Cancer
Web-based Support for Informal Caregivers in Cancer
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 8, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260908-000001
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
Web-Based Support for Informal Caregivers in Cancer Brief Summary (including hypothesis): Informal caregivers need information, skills and emotional support to address physical, spiritual, and emotional needs associated with chronic illnesses including late stage cancer. Unfortunately, current conditions force clinicians to reduce their interaction time with patients and informal caregivers. Complimentary methods must be developed to provide needed information and support to caregivers. The proposed research will measure and explain the impact of two computer-based support systems that meet caregiver needs and facilitate information exchange with clinicians. The system, CHESS (Comprehensive Health Enhancement Support System) is a non-commercial computer system that provides patients with disease specific information, emotional support and skill building tools. In the expanded form to be tested in this study, CHESS with Caregiver Support (CGCHESS) will also provide the caregiver with more information, support and skills training related to palliative care. CGCHESS will be further enhanced to communicate essential patient and caregiver information to clinicians prior to a scheduled clinic visit and when patient symptoms exceed a threshold. The investigators' primary hypothesis is that CGCHESS + Clinician Report (CR) will reduce caregiver burden more than CGCHESS because of the additional support caregivers and patients receive from clinicians who have access to the CHESS clinician report. Secondary analyses will study the mechanisms of the CHESS effect. Specifically the investigators anticipate that the CHESS effect on caregivers will be mediated by the CHESS effect on interaction patterns with clinicians, satisfaction with clinical visits and by the CHESS effect on four patient outcomes (quality of life, negative affect, average severity of nine common late-stage cancers).
Conditions
Conditions (2)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breast Cancer | Malignant Breast Neoplasm | CURATED_EXACT | 0.92 |
| Prostate Cancer | Malignant Prostate Neoplasm | CURATED_EXACT | 0.92 |
Interventions
Interventions (2)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Comprehensive Health Enhancement Support System | Behavioral | — | UNRESOLVED |
| computer with internet | Behavioral | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (2)
- type
- OTHER
- label
- 1
- description
- internet access and computer for 1 year
- interventionNames
- Behavioral: computer with internet
- type
- EXPERIMENTAL
- label
- 2
- description
- computer and Full CHESS
- interventionNames
- Behavioral: Comprehensive Health Enhancement Support System
Primary outcomes (2)
- measure
- Improve caregiver burden
- timeFrame
- every 2 months
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Minimum age
- 18 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: * Metastatic breast or prostate cancer patients and their primary caregivers Exclusion Criteria: * Cannot be homeless
References
Publications (7)
- BACKGROUNDDuBenske LL, Burke Beckjord E, Hawkins RP, Gustafson DH. Psychometric evaluation of the Health Information Orientation Scale: a brief measure for assessing health information engagement and apprehension. J Health Psychol. 2009 Sep;14(6):721-30. doi: 10.1177/1359105309338892. PMID 19687109
- BACKGROUNDDuBenske LL, Gustafson DH, Shaw BR, Cleary JF. Web-based cancer communication and decision making systems: connecting patients, caregivers, and clinicians for improved health outcomes. Med Decis Making. 2010 Nov-Dec;30(6):732-44. doi: 10.1177/0272989X10386382. Epub 2010 Nov 1. PMID 21041539
- RESULTWen KY, Gustafson DH. Needs assessment for cancer patients and their families. Health Qual Life Outcomes. 2004 Feb 26;2:11. doi: 10.1186/1477-7525-2-11. PMID 14987334
- RESULTDubenske LL, Chih MY, Dinauer S, Gustafson DH, Cleary JF. Development and implementation of a clinician reporting system for advanced stage cancer: initial lessons learned. J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2008 Sep-Oct;15(5):679-86. doi: 10.1197/jamia.M2532. Epub 2008 Jun 25. PMID 18579837
- RESULTDuBenske LL, Chih MY, Gustafson DH, Dinauer S, Cleary JF. Caregivers' participation in the oncology clinic visit mediates the relationship between their information competence and their need fulfillment and clinic visit satisfaction. Patient Educ Couns. 2010 Dec;81 Suppl:S94-9. doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2010.08.022. Epub 2010 Sep 28. PMID 20880656
- DERIVEDGustafson DH, DuBenske LL, Atwood AK, Chih MY, Johnson RA, McTavish F, Quanbeck A, Brown RL, Cleary JF, Shah D. Reducing Symptom Distress in Patients With Advanced Cancer Using an e-Alert System for Caregivers: Pooled Analysis of Two Randomized Clinical Trials. J Med Internet Res. 2017 Nov 14;19(11):e354. doi: 10.2196/jmir.7466. PMID 29138131
- DERIVEDChih MY, DuBenske LL, Hawkins RP, Brown RL, Dinauer SK, Cleary JF, Gustafson DH. Communicating advanced cancer patients' symptoms via the Internet: a pooled analysis of two randomized trials examining caregiver preparedness, physical burden, and negative mood. Palliat Med. 2013 Jun;27(6):533-43. doi: 10.1177/0269216312457213. Epub 2012 Sep 17.