Bereaved Parent Conversations on Hope

Purpose

This study looks at whether it is possible and helpful to have video call conversations about how hopes can change through the cancer journey between bereaved parents and learners at a children's cancer center.

Condition

  • Hope

Eligibility

Eligible Ages
Over 18 Years
Eligible Sex
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Inclusion Criteria

Intervention Participants must be: - Students, observers, trainees, and newly hired clinicians, - ≥18 years old, - participating in or observing clinical care at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and - willing to participate in the virtual intervention and associated study activities as learners Intervention Facilitators must be: - Bereaved parents, - ≥ 18 years old, - screened and cleared to volunteer as advisers with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital through Family, Guest and Volunteer Services, and - willing to participate in the virtual intervention and associated study activities as a facilitator

Exclusion Criteria

Intervention Participants: - Age < 18 years, decline participation, or unable to speak/write in conversational English. Intervention Facilitators: - Age < 18 years, decline participation, or unable to speak/write in conversational English.

Study Design

Phase
N/A
Study Type
Interventional
Allocation
N/A
Intervention Model
Single Group Assignment
Primary Purpose
Other
Masking
None (Open Label)

Arm Groups

ArmDescriptionAssigned Intervention
Other
Educational Intervention
Intervention Participants: Students, observers, trainees, and newly hired clinicians ≥18 years old participating in or observing clinical care at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and willing to participate in the virtual intervention and associated study activities as learners. Intervention Facilitators: Bereaved parents ≥ 18 years old screened and cleared to volunteer as advisers with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and willing to participate in the virtual intervention and associated study activities as a facilitator.
  • Other: Discussion Guide
    See Detailed Description
  • Other: Post-session Reflection Exercise
    See Detailed Description

Recruiting Locations

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Memphis, Tennessee 38105
Contact:
Brittany Cowfer, MD
888-226-4343
referralinfo@stjude.org

More Details

Status
Recruiting
Sponsor
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Study Contact

Brittany Cowfer, MD
888-226-4343
referralinfo@stjude.org

Detailed Description

Primary Objectives Aim 1: To assess feasibility and acceptability of virtual conversations about hope between bereaved parent advisors and learners at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Aim 2: To evaluate impact of discussions about hope on both bereaved parent advisors and learners. Secondary Objectives Aim 1: To explore impact of discussion with bereaved parent advisors and subsequent reflection on participant professional identity formation. This intervention is designed to facilitate direct conversations between learners and bereaved parent advisors about how hope evolves through the child's cancer journey. Providing a structured, virtual opportunity to discuss hope will allow learners to hear about the lived experiences of bereaved parents as they navigated pediatric cancer treatment, end of life, and bereavement. The intervention incorporates a discussion guide to support the conversation and a post-session reflection exercise. Assessments will include quantitative surveys administered pre-intervention and immediately post-intervention, as well as qualitative written reflections from participants and bereaved parents. Both participant groups will receive an information sheet detailing the study's purpose, procedures, potential risks, and benefits. An affirmative response on the pre-intervention survey to the item, "I would like to participate in a virtual educational discussion about hope," will be considered as implied consent to participate in the educational intervention portion of the study for both participants and facilitators. Investigators plan to enroll a total of 50 learners and 25 bereaved parent advisors. For each learner who agrees to participate, two bereaved parent advisors will be identified and scheduled to meet virtually with the learner for approximately 1 hour using a virtual platform. Prior to the meeting, bereaved parent advisors will be instructed to select 3 photos that represent how hope evolved during their child's illness journey. Both the learners and bereaved parent advisors will be provided with the discussion guide for review prior to the session. Each virtual meeting will be recorded for implementation fidelity and for reference should any learner or parent concerns arise retrospectively from the conversation. Immediately following each virtual meeting, both the learners and bereaved parent advisors will be asked to engage in individual short (15 minute) written reflections. Following this, participants will complete additional post-intervention survey questions with data collection managed through an online software platform. A second meeting with the same parents may be held at the learners request and the parents willingness. The participants who agree to and participate in a second meeting will receive open-ended questions and be prompted to complete a timed written reflection after the second meeting. On an approximately quarterly basis, learners who have previously completed the intervention will be invited to participate in a facilitated group debrief and reflection session. Separately, bereaved parent advisors who have participated in at least one virtual meeting in the preceding quarter will be invited to a discussion and feedback session to share about their experiences with the program. For parents who do not prefer a group meeting, an individual session will be offered. All debriefing sessions will be recorded.