Insights From Bereaved Parents and Oncologists

NCT07663539 | Recruiting

• 2 other identifiers: FOCUSNCI-2026-05231
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 50
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Investigators want to find better ways for doctors and families to talk about cancer and how uncertainty may affect a child's life.

Conditions

Communication

Keywords

Prognostic Uncertainty; Bereaved Parents; Oncologist

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Bereaved parents of children with cancer and oncologists reflections on communication about prognostic uncertainty during the child's cancer treatment

  The analysis plan for this study is to apply reflexive thematic analysis as described by Braun and Clarke, involving the following six step process: 1. Familiarization with the data, 2. Generating initial codes, 3. Generating initial themes, 4. Reviewing themes, 5. Refining, defining, and naming themes, 6. Writing up a narrative of results. Investigators will conduct individual interviews with participants and code transcripts independently to identify salient themes from each cohort, subsequently compare codes across cohorts to explore and characterize areas of convergence and divergence and use a matrix approach to facilitate this comparative analysis. Interviews will be recorded, transcribed, and de-identified prior to analysis. MAXQDA, a sophisticated qualitative analysis software system, will be used to conduct and synthesize analysis.

  Approximately 1-3 weeks after enrollment.

Study Arms (2)

Parent Participants

Parents who have lost a child to cancer

Oncologist Participants

St. Jude doctors who treated the child

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Parents who have lost a child to cancer and the doctors who treated them.

You may qualify if:

• All participants must be ≥ 18 years of age or legally emancipated
• Parent Participants must have a child who:
• Received cancer care from a clinician at St. Jude, as documented in the electronic medical record, AND
• Died at least 6 months prior to enrollment, but no more than 24 months prior to enrollment.
• Oncologist participants at St. Jude must:
• Be listed as the primary oncologist as documented in the electronic medical record, AND
• Have the respective patient's parent agreement to participate in the study.

You may not qualify if:

• Declining, refusal, or unwillingness to participate
• Inability or unwillingness of research participant to give informed consent.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• St. Jude Children's Research Hospital: lead

Study Sites (1)

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Memphis, Tennessee, 38105, United States

RECRUITING

Related Links

• St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
• Clinical Trials Open at St. Jude

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Communication

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior

Study Officials

• Stephanie Gehle, MD

  St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Stephanie Gehle, MD

CONTACT

888-226-4343; referralinfo@stjude.org

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: COHORT
• Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: June 16, 2026
• First Posted: June 23, 2026
• Study Start: July 9, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2026
• Last Updated: July 28, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-07

Locations

US (1)