Quantifying the recruitment challenges with couple‐based interventions for cancer: applications to early‐stage breast cancer

Abstract

Objective Despite mounting evidence supporting the use of psychosocial interventions to promote adaptation to cancer, enrolling participants into these interventions is challenging. This is particularly salient for couple-based interventions, and newer, more targeted recruitment strategies to increase enrollment are needed. However, there have been few published empirical studies focused specifically on recruitment–related variables associated with enrollment into these types of interventions. To better understand how to encourage participation in couple-based psychosocial interventions for cancer, we examined facilitating and impeding factors to enrollment into a couple-based intervention for women with early stage breast cancer. Method In this sample of 99 women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer, patient demographic variables and method of approaching eligible patients were examined as predictors of enrollment into a randomized controlled trial comparing Couple-Based Relationship Enhancement with treatment-as-usual. Results Results indicated that women were more likely to enroll if they were contacted at home or at a follow-up medical appointment rather than when first diagnosed at a busy multidisciplinary clinic; they were also more likely to enroll the closer they lived to the research facility. Conclusions In addition to decreasing participant burden, timing and setting of recruitment efforts may have important implications for enhancing participation rates in couple-based intervention studies for cancer.

Recruitment of breast cancer survivors and their caregivers: implications for dyad research and practice

“…Particularly for caregivers of survivors with multiple comorbidities, economic and time constraints may reduce the appeal of participating in intensive in-person research or intervention sessions. Web-based and other alternative approaches to increasing the convenience of participation for these dyads should be explored [43]. Research is also needed to better understand how to reach dyads with poor relationship functioning and caregivers who are nonpartnered support persons.…”

Intimate Relationships Affected by Breast Cancer: Interventions for Couples

“…Timing or scheduling issues and age (i.e., younger couples are more likely to participate than older ones) emerged as key factors [19,37]. More research is required to identify barriers and obstacles for couples to participate in couple-based interventions (e.g., by approaching couples at routine clinic visits, scheduling study-related appointments with medical appointments, decreasing the number of sessions, expanding the delivery methods by conducting trials by phone, the Internet or in the couples' homes, enhancing the cooperation with physicians or clinic staff, and increasing the perception that psychosocial interventions are an important part of overall medical care) [19,40] and to identify the couples' preferences for interventions considering factors such as disease stage, age, feasibility, and cost effectiveness [19]. …”

Multiple Family Groups for Adult Cancer Survivors and Their Families: A 1-Day Workshop Model

“…Similar to reports from other family-based interventions for families dealing with cancer (Fredman et al, 2009; Hammerlid, Persson, Sullivan, & Westin, 1999), many workshop participants remarked that they would have appreciated the workshop more had it been made available at an earlier point in the patient’s course of treatment and recovery (the mean time between diagnosis and MFG participation was 17.8 months). However, given the physical demands associated with head and neck cancer treatment (surgery, chemotherapy, radiation), it is questionable whether families would actually have been able (or motivated) to participate in a psychosocial intervention during this usually strenuous time.…”