Cancer, Vulnerability, and Financial Quality of Life: A Mixed Methods Study

NCT ID: NCT01169545

Last Updated: 2015-05-18

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Total Enrollment: 90 participants
• Study Classification: OBSERVATIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2010-05-31
• Study Completion Date: 2012-05-31

Brief Summary

The primary purpose of this study is to examine how vulnerabilities in psychological and social situations affect financial quality of life.

Detailed Description

The primary purpose of this study is to examine how vulnerabilities in psychological and social situations affect financial quality of life. For people who are experiencing financial hardship, a cancer diagnosis can be devastating. For others, cancer may cause or even worsen financial stress, for example, with their work, their ability to maintain benefits such as health insurance, their ability to pay bills, and their ability to get the cancer treatment they need. The impact of cancer on financial quality of life is an important area of study within cancer care. Considering the financial burden of cancer also lends greater appreciation for the problems that people face if they cannot handle cancer's costs, or if needed resources are either not present or are too stretched to help with the care they need. For this study, up to 180 cancer patients will be interviewed with a written questionnaire. Of this group, 15 people will also be asked if they would like to participate in a follow-up personal interview with the researcher. The major hypothesis of this study is: The greater the vulnerabilities in predisposing factors and enabling factors, the greater the need factors with respect to cancer diagnosis and treatment, and the lower the perceived ability to adhere to treatment, the poorer will be the financial quality of life.

Conditions

Cancer

Study Design

• Study Time Perspective: CROSS_SECTIONAL

Study Groups

Cancer patients over the age of 18

Cancer patients over the age of 18 who are receiving active treatment.

No interventions assigned to this group

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Any cancer patient over the age of 18 who can speak and understand English and can provide informed consent

Exclusion Criteria

• Pediatric patients; non-English-speaking patients

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

Georgetown University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Christine Callahan, PhD, LCSW-C

clinical social worker and PhD candidate

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Christine C. Callahan, MSW

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

The Catholic University of America

Other Identifiers

2010-090

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id