Construction and Preliminary Evaluation of Dyadic Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Couples With Fear of Lung Cancer Recurrence

Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to develop a simple, scientific, effective, and culturally adapted dyadic Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) intervention program (the ADAPT program) targeting fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) among lung cancer patients and their spouse caregivers. The study will also evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of the ADAPT program.

The main research questions are as follows:

* Is the ADAPT intervention program feasible and acceptable for lung cancer patients and their spouse caregivers?
* Compared with usual care, can the ADAPT intervention program preliminarily reduce FCR levels in both patients and their spouse caregivers? Can the program improve coping styles, illness perceptions, family functioning, and intimate relationships among both patients and their spouse caregivers? Can the program enhance psychological flexibility and quality of life (QOL) in both patients and their spouse caregivers? Researchers will compare the ADAPT intervention program with usual care to evaluate its preliminary effectiveness in reducing FCR among lung cancer patients and their spouse caregivers.

Participants will:

* Receive the ADAPT intervention twice during each radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy cycle, for a total of three treatment cycles (approximately 3 months);
* Complete questionnaires at baseline (before the intervention), immediately after the intervention, and one month post-intervention;
* Report outcomes including FCR severity, FCR triggers, psychological flexibility, illness perception, dyadic coping, family functioning, intimacy, and quality of life (QOL).

Conditions

• Lung Neoplasms
• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
• Spouses

Interventions

OTHER

Dyadic Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for lung cancer patients and their spouse caregivers addressing FCR and routine care

In addition to routine care provided to the control group, the ACT intervention will be delivered by researchers who have completed formal training in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). The intervention will be conducted in a quiet and comfortable demonstration room within the department. The intervention will be delivered in a face-to-face, couple-based format. It will consist of six sessions, with two sessions per treatment cycle, each lasting 35-75 minutes, over a total of three treatment cycles. The intervention will incorporate techniques such as metaphor-based exercises, mindful breathing, body scan, the T-puzzle, and the Chinese finger trap. The preliminary structure is as follows: six fixed in-person sessions (Sessions 1-6), supplemented by online homework assignments completed between sessions.

OTHER

routine care

① Health education: 1. Disease knowledge education 2. Nutrition and hygiene education * Follow-up management and symptom monitoring: Conduct a telephone follow-up within one month after the patient is discharged from the hospital to ensure timely monitoring of the patient's physical condition. * Home rehabilitation management: Provide nutritional counseling services for the patient and spouse caregiver, guide home-based dietary adjustments, and maintain good nutritional status and immunity. Encourage the patient and spouse caregiver to communicate promptly with the medical team when experiencing uncomfortable symptoms, thereby speeding up recovery and improving rehabilitation outcomes.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Feifei Huang

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Feifei Huang, Ph. D · Fujian Medical University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

20 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2026-05-15

Primary Completion

2027-06-30

Completion

2027-06-30