Expressive Helping for Chinese-Speaking Cancer Patients and Survivors

NCT03945734 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 19-0612
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 60
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study examines the feasibility, cultural-sensitivity, and health effects of the expressive helping intervention by conducting a single-arm trial with Chinese-speaking cancer patients and survivors.

Conditions

Neoplasms; Cancer

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (4)

• Number of participants screened

  The number of participants screened for eligibility will be counted.

  through study completion, an average of 1 year

• Compliance rate

  Compliance rate is calculated by dividing the number of writing/voice-recording sessions finished by the number of sessions assigned.

  through study completion, an average of 1 year

• Retention rate

  Retention rate is calculated by dividing the number of participants who began the study by the number of participants who finished the entire study.

  through study completion, an average of 1 year

• Meaningfulness of the study

  We will ask participants open-ended questions about whether they felt participating in this study was meaningful to them.

  This will be assessed approximately four weeks after the baseline

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Change in quality of life as assessed by the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy Scale (FACT).

  Baseline; 1-month follow-up; 3-month follow-up

• Change in depressive symptoms as assessed by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D).

  Baseline; 1-month follow-up; 3-month follow-up

Study Arms (1)

Expressive Helping

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants complete four 20-minute writing/voice-recording sessions spaced one week apart. During the first week, the instructions will explain that cancer patients and survivors benefit from learning about other cancer survivors' experiences. They are told that the first three weeks of writing/voice-recording (writing/talking about their stress and coping at Week 1, deepest emotions about cancer at Week 2, self-affirmation and benefit finding at Week 3) are exercises designed to help them think about their cancer experiences and to prepare them to write/record the narrative they would share on Week 4. During Week 4, they are asked to write/record a narrative as if they are speaking to another Chinese person with cancer, adding advice and encouragements, and reminded that their writing/recording would be shared with other Chinese American cancer patients and survivors.

Behavioral: Expressive Helping

Interventions

Expressive Helping BEHAVIORAL

Expressive helping harnesses the benefits of helping others (e.g., support giving) through writing or voice-recording. Expressive helping integrates two distinct areas of research showing that writing or speaking about ones' negative experiences and engaging in support giving behaviors can improve psychological well-being.

Expressive Helping

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Diagnosis of cancer (any type)
• Of Chinese descent
• Over the age of 18
• Can speaking and read Mandarin Chinese

You may not qualify if:

• Completed primary cancer treatment more than five years ago

Sponsors & Collaborators

• New York University: lead

Study Sites (1)

New York University

New York, New York, 10003, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Neoplasms

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: SUPPORTIVE CARE
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 7, 2019
• First Posted: May 10, 2019
• Study Start: May 20, 2019
• Primary Completion: December 30, 2020
• Study Completion: December 30, 2020
• Last Updated: December 3, 2025

Record last verified: 2021-03

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)