Department of Couple and Family Therapy, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19102, USA.
Psychooncology. 2013 Jul;22(7):1572-80. doi: 10.1002/pon.3172. Epub 2012 Sep 5.
The primary objective of this 2-year pilot study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a culturally adapted family intervention in improving family communication among African American parents coping with cancer and their school-age children. A secondary objective was to determine its impact on other symptoms of psychosocial distress (depression and anxiety). The third objective was to assess for acceptability and feasibility.
Using a two-arm pre-intervention and post-intervention prospective design, 12 African American families received five bi-monthly sessions of either a culturally adapted family intervention (n=7 families) or psycho-education treatment (n=5 families). Parents and their children completed pre-intervention and post-intervention questionnaires assessing perceptions of family communication, quality of their relationship, and symptoms of depression. School-age children additionally completed a questionnaire assessing their levels of anxiety. Consumer satisfaction was also evaluated at post-intervention.
Parents and school-age children who completed the culturally adapted family intervention reported significantly better communication with each other and were more satisfied compared with the psycho-education control group. No changes were noted in symptoms of anxiety or depression. The culturally adapted family intervention was acceptable based on our findings, families' feedback, and rates of retention. Feasibility is uncertain because our oncology clinic approach to recruitment was slower than expected.
Providing culturally adapted family intervention programs to African American families who are coping with parental cancer may result in improved family communication. This pilot study serves as the first step in the development of culturally adapted family intervention programs to help African American families cope with parental cancer.
本为期两年的试点研究的主要目的是评估一种文化适应性家庭干预措施在改善应对癌症的非裔美国家庭中父母与学龄儿童之间的家庭沟通方面的有效性。次要目的是确定其对其他心理困扰症状（抑郁和焦虑）的影响。第三个目的是评估可接受性和可行性。
采用前后向设计，12 个非裔美国家庭接受了 5 次每两个月一次的文化适应性家庭干预（n=7 个家庭）或心理教育治疗（n=5 个家庭）。父母及其子女在干预前和干预后完成了评估家庭沟通、关系质量和抑郁症状的问卷。学龄儿童还完成了评估其焦虑程度的问卷。干预后还评估了消费者满意度。
完成文化适应性家庭干预的父母和学龄儿童报告说，与接受心理教育的对照组相比，他们彼此之间的沟通明显更好，并且更满意。焦虑或抑郁症状没有变化。根据我们的研究结果、家庭的反馈和保留率，文化适应性家庭干预是可以接受的。但是，可行性不确定，因为我们的肿瘤诊所招募方法比预期的要慢。
为应对父母癌症的非裔美国家庭提供文化适应性家庭干预计划可能会改善家庭沟通。这项试点研究是开发文化适应性家庭干预计划以帮助非裔美国家庭应对父母癌症的第一步。
