Telehealth Support to Reduce Distress and Financial Stress in Caregivers of Patients Undergoing Cytoreductive Surgery and Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy

What this Trial Is About

This research aims to evaluate whether identifying resources for primary caregivers can help reduce financial stress, depression, and improve quality of life and coping ability. Caregivers of patients undergoing cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (CS+HIPEC) face significant depressive symptoms and financial challenges that differ from those experienced by patients. The study focuses on whether telehealth support can increase caregivers' awareness of helpful resources and better support their needs throughout the caregiving journey. Participants are randomly assigned to one of two groups. The intervention group receives a telehealth navigation session lasting about one hour, conducted 1 to 4 weeks before the patient's surgery, which may include referrals to specific caregiving resources. The comparison group receives the standard caregiving experience without the telehealth intervention. After the intervention, all participants are followed up at 3, 6, 12, and 24 months to assess ongoing effects. Throughout the study, caregivers complete surveys and assessments to measure depression using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D), financial distress, self-efficacy in managing treatment costs, satisfaction with care, community resource use, quality of life, social support, and treatment satisfaction. Electronic health records are also reviewed as part of ancillary studies. The study tracks caregiver outcomes at 1 and 2 years to understand the telehealth intervention's feasibility and impact over time.

Telehealth Intervention for Improving Distress and Financial Toxicity in the Caregivers