Active, Not Recruiting

NCT Number: NCT00968500

Understanding the Psychosocial Needs of Parents Who Have Lost a Child to Cancer

The purpose of this study is to understand the experiences and needs of parents who have lost a child to cancer. This will aid us in developing an intervention that may help parents cope with their loss.

Active, Not Recruiting

This study is active but is not currently recruiting participants.

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Key information

Conditions

Parents Who Have Lost a Child to Cancer

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

NCI Clinical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, United States

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

Loss of a child to cancer between 6 months and 6 years ago
Loss of a child between the ages of 6 months and 25 years
Biological or adoptive parent or stepparent
Parent must be age 18 or over
In the judgment of investigators/consenting professionals able to comprehend English to complete study assessments
To be eligible for the qualitative interview, participants more score of 19 or less (< 19)or 34 or greater (> 34) on the PG-13 to qualify

Exclusion criteria

Significant psychiatric disturbance sufficient, in the investigator's judgment, to preclude completion of the assessment measures, interview or informed consent.

Treatment and study plan

Questionnaires/Interviews

Behavioral

Prior to the interview, the measure of prolonged grief disorder symptoms, the PG-13, will be re-administered to participants as a quality assurance check. We will administer 7 self-report measures, which participants can complete in our office, at home, or via telephone, depending on their preferences. These questionnaires should take approximately 75 to 80 minutes to complete. If you are asked to take part in the in-depth interview and you choose to take part, the interview that will take approximately 60 to 90 minutes to complete, depending on the length of the responses to the questions asked.

The participant may also be asked if they would be willing to fill out an additional questionnaire about parents' thoughts on the most appropriate timing for raising the topic of a postmortem examination and factors that are important to include in discussions. Despite its importance, autopsy is often not discussed with parents whose child is dying from cancer.

Primary outcomes

Identify the unique qualitative themes related to finding meaning among parents who lost a child to cancer to inform development of a conceptually sound meaning-centered grief intervention.

Time frame: 2 years

Secondary outcomes

Determine differences in qualitative themes of meaning in parents in the high and low Prolonged Grief Disorder subgroups to help select a target population for a meaning-centered grief intervention.

Time frame: 2 years
Explore and identify factors associated with bereaved parents' psychosocial service underutilization to guide the development of an acceptable and feasible meaning-centered grief intervention format.

Time frame: 2 years

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Other

Collaborators

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Ohio State University
University of Memphis
University of Southern California

Registry information

Important dates

Study start: 2009
Primary completion: 2027
Study completion: 2027
First posted: Aug 31, 2009
Registry last updated: Apr 21, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.