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The Enhancing Connections-Telephone study: a pilot feasibility test of a cancer parenting program

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Abstract

Purpose

The purposes of the study were to (1) test the short-term impact of a telephone-delivered cancer parenting education program, the Enhancing Connections-Telephone (EC-T) Program, on maternal anxiety, depressed mood, parenting competencies, and child behavioral-emotional adjustment and (2) compare those outcomes with outcomes achieved from an in-person delivery of the same program (EC).

Methods

Thirty-two mothers comprised the sample for the within-group design and 77 mothers for the between-group design. Mothers were eligible if they had one or more dependent children and were recently diagnosed with stages 0–III breast cancer. Mothers in both groups received five intervention sessions at 2-week intervals from a patient educator using a fully scripted intervention manual.

Results

Outcomes from the within-group analysis revealed significant improvements on maternal anxiety, parenting competencies, and the child’s behavioral-emotional functioning. Outcomes from the between-group analysis showed the EC-T did as well or better than EC in positively affecting maternal anxiety, depressed mood, parenting competencies, and the child’s behavioral-emotional adjustment. Furthermore, the EC-T had a significantly greater impact than the EC on maternal confidence in helping their family and themselves manage the cancer’s impact and in staying calm during emotionally charged conversations about the breast cancer with their child.

Conclusions

Regardless of the channel of delivery, the Enhancing Connections Program has the potential to positively affect parenting competencies and behavioral-emotional adjustment in mothers and dependent children in the first year of stages 0–III maternal breast cancer. Its positive impact from telephone delivery holds promise for sustainability.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by grants from the National Cancer Institute, NIH, under award numbers R03 CA 178 488 and R01 CA 78 424. The content of the manuscript is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of [alphabetical] Tessa Floyd, Jonika Hash, Alicia M. Korkowski, Victor L. Martin, and Weichao Yuwen. The authors dedicate this paper to the families who participated in this study, our greatest teachers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Nursing, University of Washington, Box 357262, Seattle, 98195, WA, USA

    Frances Marcus Lewis, Kristin A. Griffith, Amy Walker, Ellen H. Zahlis, Mary Ellen Shands, Zainab Alzawad, Hebah AL Mulla & Nai-ching Chi

  2. Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Division of Public Health Sciences, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA

    Frances Marcus Lewis

  3. College of Nursing, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, 68198, USA

    Robin M. Lally

  4. Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA

    Elizabeth T. Loggers

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  1. Frances Marcus Lewis
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Correspondence to Frances Marcus Lewis.

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The authors have no financial relationship with the funding organization that sponsored the research. The senior author has full control of all the primary data and agrees to allow the journal to review the data if requested.

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Lewis, F.M., Griffith, K.A., Walker, A. et al. The Enhancing Connections-Telephone study: a pilot feasibility test of a cancer parenting program. Support Care Cancer 25, 615–623 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-016-3448-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-016-3448-z

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