Support for Bereaved Cancer Caregivers

Primary outcomes

1. Feasibility of Intervention Measure

   Time frame: From baseline to the end of intervention at 12 weeks

   The 4-item Feasibility of Intervention Measure was developed for evaluating the success of feasibility, demonstrate encouraging psychometric properties. The items that are scored on a scale of 0 to 4 where 0 indicates "completely disagree," and 4 indicates "completely agree". Thus, the range for each scale extends from 0 - 16 with higher scores indicating higher feasibility and acceptability.

2. Acceptability of Intervention Measure

   Time frame: From baseline to the end of intervention at 12 weeks

   The 4-item Acceptability of Intervention Measure was developed for evaluating the success of acceptability, demonstrate encouraging psychometric properties. The items that are scored on a scale of 0 to 4 where 0 indicates "completely disagree," and 4 indicates "completely agree". Thus, the range for each scale extends from 0 - 16 with higher scores indicating higher feasibility and acceptability.

3. Attention Function Index

   Time frame: From baseline to the end of intervention at 12 weeks

   Directed attention will be assessed with the Attention Function Index, a 16-item self-rating scale that measures perceived effectiveness in daily tasks that require cognitive function. Items are scored on an 11-point Likert scale ranging from 0, indicating "not at all," to 10, indicating "extremely well or a great deal." Higher scores indicate better cognitive functioning.

4. Prolonged Grief 13-Revised

   Time frame: From baseline to the end of intervention at 12 weeks

   Grief (Bereavement) will be measured with the Prolonged Grief 13-Revised prolonged grief scale, Ongoing testing demonstrates that the measure is consistently reliable and a valid instrument for classifying less adaptive grief responses. Thirteen items to assess symptoms of prolonged grief disorder. Ten items are scored on a Likert-style scale from 1, "not at all," to 5 "overwhelmingly" to indicate how often that item describes how they are feeling. Three of the items assess whether the respondent had lost a significant other, how long ago the death occurred, and impairment associated with symptoms. Scores of 30 or greater on the symptom items indicate prolonged grief disorder (PGD), and were associated with poorer emotional and mental health as well as work and social adjustment difficulties.

5. PROMIS-29: Quality of life

   Time frame: From baseline to the end of intervention at 12 weeks

   The PROMIS profile instruments are a collection of profile short forms, where each form contains items from 1 of 7 primary PROMIS domains (emotional, social, and physical function, pain interference, fatigue, sleep disturbance, health satisfaction). PROMIS tools were developed to create psychometrically robust fixed-length short forms that can be used across trials and clinical conditions.

   The PROMIS-29 assesses each domain with 4 questions each. Items are on a 5-point Likert scale that ranges from 0 to 4.

6. Acceptability and Feasibility Tracking

   Time frame: From baseline to the end of intervention at 12 weeks

   participant numbers referred vs numbers eligible; numbers eligible vs. number consented; numbers consented vs. number completed; number of weeks using the intervention.