Clinical trial · Interventional
Expressive Writing for Caregivers of Persons With Cancer
A Community-based Video-conference-delivered Expressive Writing Intervention for Caregivers of Persons With 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)
The goal of this clinical trial is to test the effects of an expressive writing intervention for caregivers of persons with cancer. The main questions the study aims to answer are: 1. Does participation in a group-based, videoconference-delivered expressive writing intervention improve mood and quality of life for caregivers of persons with cancer? 2. Is greater improvement associated with writing that is more emotionally expressive or personally revealing, or with group-based sessions characterized by certain linguistic features such as greater emotionality? 3. Is benefit greater for certain subgroups of caregivers, such as those who are younger or who identify as female in gender? Participants will be asked to join four videoconference-delivered, group-based expressive writing sessions. This will be done in groups of 4-8 caregivers and led by a trained facilitator. During each session, participants will write about their deepest thoughts and feelings about their loved one's cancer and their experiences as a caregiver. They will then discuss as a group any reactions to the writing process. Participants will be randomly assigned to either active intervention (receiving the intervention as soon as a group is formed) or waitlist control. Researchers will compare active and waitlist control participants on to pre- to post-intervention changes in mood and quality of life.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Distress, Emotional | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Quality of Life | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
Interventions
Interventions (1)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expressive writing intervention | Behavioral | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (2)
- type
- EXPERIMENTAL
- label
- Active intervention
- description
- Participants will attend four group-based expressive writing sessions led by a trained facilitator. All sessions will be delivered via videoconference. Sessions will occur weekly over the course of 4 consecutive weeks and will not exceed 60 minutes in length. Each session will include a 15- to 20-minute writing stint whereby participants are asked to write about their deepest thoughts and feelings regarding their loved one's cancer and their role as caregiver. All participants will be given a Rocketbook for this purpose, a spiral notebook that has the look and feel of a standard paper notebook but uses a pen with erasable ink. The writing stint will be followed by a group discussion; participants will be invited to share what they wrote about (if so desired) and their reactions to the writing process. Each session will end with a debriefing and erasure of the writing content just created. This will ensure privacy of the material and may be perceived as cleansing.
- interventionNames
- Behavioral: Expressive writing intervention
- type
- PLACEBO_COMPARATOR
- label
- Waitlist control
- description
- Procedures are exactly the same as for the experimental arm but delayed.
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Minimum age
- 18 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: * Age 18 years or older * Self-identify as informal caregiver for an adult (age 18+) diagnosed with stage II-IV breast, ovarian, prostate, colon, rectal, or lung cancer within the past 2 years * English speaking and comprehending * Access to a desktop computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone and Wireless Fidelity (WIFI) to complete surveys and participate in videoconference-based expressive writing sessions Exclusion Criteria: -Caregiver for pediatric cancer patient
References
Publications (16)
- BACKGROUNDGlajchen M. The emerging role and needs of family caregivers in cancer care. J Support Oncol. 2004 Mar-Apr;2(2):145-55. PMID 15328817
- BACKGROUNDJayani R, Hurria A. Caregivers of older adults with cancer. Semin Oncol Nurs. 2012 Nov;28(4):221-5. doi: 10.1016/j.soncn.2012.09.004. PMID 23107179
- BACKGROUNDAreia NP, Fonseca G, Major S, Relvas AP. Psychological morbidity in family caregivers of people living with terminal cancer: Prevalence and predictors. Palliat Support Care. 2019 Jun;17(3):286-293. doi: 10.1017/S1478951518000044. Epub 2018 Feb 26. PMID 29478419
- BACKGROUNDGeng HM, Chuang DM, Yang F, Yang Y, Liu WM, Liu LH, Tian HM. Prevalence and determinants of depression in caregivers of cancer patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Medicine (Baltimore). 2018 Sep;97(39):e11863. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000011863. PMID 30278483
- BACKGROUNDNorthouse LL, Katapodi MC, Schafenacker AM, Weiss D. The impact of caregiving on the psychological well-being of family caregivers and cancer patients. Semin Oncol Nurs. 2012 Nov;28(4):236-45. doi: 10.1016/j.soncn.2012.09.006. PMID 23107181
- BACKGROUNDGirgis A, Lambert S, Johnson C, Waller A, Currow D. Physical, psychosocial, relationship, and economic burden of caring for people with cancer: a review. J Oncol Pract. 2013 Jul;9(4):197-202. doi: 10.1200/JOP.2012.000690. Epub 2012 Dec 4. PMID 23942921
- BACKGROUNDTeixeira RJ, Applebaum AJ, Bhatia S, Brandao T. The impact of coping strategies of cancer caregivers on psychophysiological outcomes: an integrative review. Psychol Res Behav Manag. 2018 May 24;11:207-215. doi: 10.2147/PRBM.S164946. eCollection 2018. PMID 29872357
- Stanton AL, Danoff-Burg S, Sworowski LA, Collins CA, Branstetter AD, Rodriguez-Hanley A, Kirk SB, Austenfeld JL. Randomized, controlled trial of written emotional expression and benefit finding in breast cancer patients. J Clin Oncol. 2002 Oct 15;20(20):4160-8. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2002.08.521.