Grant Number:	5R03CA088769-02 Interpret this number
Primary Investigator:	Zabora, James
Organization:	Johns Hopkins University
Project Title:	Family Dynamics and Problem Solving Educ for Caregivers
Fiscal Year:	2001

DESCRIPTION (Applicant's Description) The specific aims of this application are to: 1. Investigate the effect of a problem-solving educational intervention for family caregivers of cancer patients on problem-solving skills and psychological well-being of family caregivers, and secondarily, of patients; 2. Examine the differential effect of the problem-solving intervention on psychological well-being and problem-solving behaviors in families whose level of functioning is balanced or extreme with the goal of identifying hypotheses for future research. The effects of cancer reverberate throughout the family. Cancer generates demands that impose severe levels of stress that can challenge even the most well-functioning family. Most importantly, these struggles occur as families attempt to serve as the primary source of support for the patient - a buffer against stress and a facilitator for effective decision-making and problem- solving. In addition, dramatic changes in health care delivery have significantly increased the expectations of health care providers on families as caregivers. Consequently, an imperative in cancer has emerged to develop new and effective ways to enhance the problem-solving abilities of family caregivers. This study will investigate the effect of a problem-solving educational intervention for use with family caregivers of cancer patients under active treatment or during a discharge from an acute hospitalization. Thirty (30) family caregivers of patients initiating radiotherapy and an additional thirty (30) family caregivers of patients acutely hospitalized will be recruited for this study. A quasi-experimental design with "time-series" assessments will be employed to demonstrate that the dependent measures of problem-solving behavior and psychological well-being are stable prior to the intervention due to the lack of a control group. Following the intervention, assessments will occur at 30 days and again at 60 days to determine the effect of the problem- solving educational program through paired t-tests and MANOVA. A critical analysis will examine family functioning, i.e., balanced versus extreme, as an influence on the changes in the family caregiver's problem-solving behavior over the course of the study.





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