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Evaluation on the Effects of a Brief Hope Intervention to the Symptoms in the Palliative Care Patients

NCT03021603 · Status: UNKNOWN · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 40

Last updated 2017-01-23

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Aims. This paper describes the study protocol of a manualized brief positive intervention (BHI). In addition, it reports the on the modification of a hope intervention based on the theoretical proposition - hope theory, and its feasibility when applying to palliative cancer and non-cancer patients.

Background. Hope was found to account for therapeutic changes in clients with depressive symptoms or chronic pain. Nevertheless, little is known about the integration of such active ingredients to brief and low intensity psycho-therapeutic interventions to patients receiving palliative care were not adequately tested.

Design. The study included two stages: (1) manual development, and (2) a single blinded randomized controlled trial.

Methods. Participants will be randomly assigned in equal number into either the brief hope intervention or the controlled arm on completion of the baseline assessment. Participants of the intervention group will be receiving the four-week intervention, while those allocated to the control arm will be receiving the routine care and social chats. The intervention is a manualized program that consists of four sessions at weekly intervals (two face to face sessions and two telephone follow up in between). The core content is modified from an eight sessions hope therapy. Expert panel feedback and trial on targeted populations were completed. Four participants received the program to determine its acceptability prior to feasibility testing. The process and practical considerations were evaluated to allow refinement of the program and to ensure the quality of intervention.

Outcome measures comprise of changes in state hope score and the depression scores measured respectively by State Hope Scale and Centre for Epidemiological Study Depression Scale. The secondary outcomes are the common signs and symptoms in cancer patients measured by The Condensed Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale. Data collection will be done prior to the intervention (baseline), immediately and one month after the intervention. Additional use of qualitative interview to explore their experiences in the intervention, including satisfaction with the intervention and the treatment fidelity will be conducted.

Conditions

  • Psychological

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Brief Hope Intervention

The present Brief Hope Intervention (BHI) is a four-weeks individual intervention: Hope enhancement strategies included sharing and recalling past successes, hope-based goal mapping exercises, examining possible pathways to reach the targeted goals, hope visualization exercise and positive self-talk. Purpose: help participants to develop positive thoughts. The programme consists of four sessions: Two face-to-face sessions (1-hour) and two telephone follow up (30 mins) Homework: A booklet is prepared for the participants for reviewing their planned goals and recording achieved targets.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Chan Kitty, PhD · The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
SINGLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2017-03-01
Primary Completion
2018-04-30
Completion
2018-05-01

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT03021603 on ClinicalTrials.gov