Chinese American Cancer Survivors Writing Study

NCT05456100 | Recruiting

• 2 other identifiers: 20-06031K01MD014750
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 108
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The Chinese American Cancer Survivors Writing Study is a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) testing the feasibility and efficacy of the Expressive Helping (EH) intervention among Chinese American cancer survivors.

Conditions

Cancer

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Recruitment rates

  The number of participants screened for eligibility, percent eligible to participate, and percent of people who refuse to participate will be tracked.

  through study completion, an average of 6 months

• Retention rates

  Percent of participants who complete each stage of the study (e.g., baseline survey, writing sessions, follow-ups) will be tracked.

  through study completion, an average of 6 months

• Completion rate of writing sessions

  Assessed by dividing the number of writing sessions finished by the number of sessions assigned.

  through study completion, an average of 6 months

Secondary Outcomes (5)

• Changes in depressive symptoms assessed by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale

  Baseline to 1-month follow-up, 3-month follow-up, and 6-month follow-up

• Changes in anxiety symptoms assessed by the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Screener

  Baseline to 1-month follow-up, 3-month follow-up, and 6-month follow-up

• Changes in health-related quality of life assessed by the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy: General (FACT-G).

  Baseline to 1-month follow-up, 3-month follow-up, and 6-month follow-up

• Changes in perceived stress assessed by the Perceived Stress Scale.

  Baseline to 1-month follow-up, 3-month follow-up, and 6-month follow-up

• Changes in cancer-related fatigue assessed by the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy - Fatigue

  Baseline to 1-month follow-up, 3-month follow-up, and 6-month follow-up

Study Arms (3)

Expressive Helping

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants complete a 20-minute expressive writing session once per week for the first three weeks. During Week 4, participants complete a 20-minute peer support writing session.

Behavioral: Expressive Helping

Expressive Writing

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Participants complete a 20-minute expressive writing session once per week for four weeks.

Behavioral: Expressive Writing

Factual Writing

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Participants complete a 20-minute factual writing about their cancer diagnosis and treatment every week for four weeks.

Behavioral: Factual Writing

Interventions

Expressive Helping BEHAVIORAL

Expressive helping involves a combination of emotional disclosure and peer support writing completed over four weeks.

Expressive Helping

Expressive Writing BEHAVIORAL

Expressive writing involves emotional disclosure writing over four weeks.

Expressive Writing

Factual Writing BEHAVIORAL

Factual writing involves writing facts about cancer treatment and experiences over four weeks.

Factual Writing

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 80 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Over 18 years old.
• Prefer speaking in Mandarin Chinese or Cantonese, and able to read and write Simplified or Traditional Chinese.
• Within 5 years after completing primary treatment or have completed primary treatment but still on medication for managing cancer-related symptoms.

You may not qualify if:

• Difficulties with writing
• Current active participation in support groups (i.e., attending more than once per week)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• New York University: lead
• National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

New York University

New York, New York, 10003, United States

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Neoplasms

Central Study Contacts

William Tsai, PhD

CONTACT

(212)998-5552; will.tsai@nyu.edu

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: SUPPORTIVE CARE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 6, 2022
• First Posted: July 13, 2022
• Study Start: July 14, 2022
• Primary Completion (Estimated): June 30, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2026
• Last Updated: December 9, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-05

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)