Effectiveness of a comprehensive support program for families with parental cancer (Family-SCOUT): results of a multicenter non-randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Cancer patients with minor children but also their families suffer from significant psychological distress and comorbidity. Protective factors predicting successful coping are well known. Corresponding systematic interventions are rare and limited by access barriers. We developed a comprehensive family-centered intervention for cancer patients with at least one dependent minor.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: Family-SCOUT represents a multicentric, prospective, interventional, and controlled study for families with parental cancer and their minor children. In the intervention group (IG), all family members were addressed using a care and case management approach for nine months. Families in the control group (CG) received standard of care. Participating parents were asked to complete the Hospital-Anxiety-Depression-Scale (HADS) questionnaire at enrolment (T0) and after 9 months (T2). The primary outcome was a clinically relevant reduction of distress in at least one parent per family, measured as minimal important difference (MID) of ≥1.6 in the HADS total score. The percentage of families achieving MID is compared between the IG and CG by exact Fisher's test, followed by multivariate confounder analyses.

RESULTS: T0-questionnaire of at least one parent was available for 424 of 472 participating families, T2-questionnaire after 9 months was available for 331 families (IG n = 175, CG n = 156). At baseline, both parents showed high levels of distress (HADS total: sick parents IG: 18.7 ± 8.1; CG: 16.0 ± 7.2; healthy partners: IG: 19.1 ± 7.9; CG: 15.2 ± 7.7). The intervention was associated with a significant reduction in parental distress in the IG (MID 70.4% in at least one parent) compared with the CG (MID 55.8%; P = 0.008). Adjustment for group differences from specific confounders retained significance (P = 0.047). Bias from other confounders cannot be excluded.

CONCLUSIONS: Parental cancer leads to a high psychosocial burden in affected families. Significant distress reduction can be achieved through an optimized and structured care approach directed at the family level such as family-SCOUT.