Addressing a critical need for caregiver support in neuro-oncology: development of a caregiver navigation...

Informal caregivers are key to oncology care, but often have unmet needs, leading to poor psychological and physical health outcomes. Comprehensive, proactive caregiver support programs are needed. We describe the development of a support intervention for caregivers of persons with brain tumors. The intervention uses a caregiver navigator to help participants identify and capitalize on existing social support resources captured using a web-based tool (eSNAP) and connects participants to existing formal services. We describe the iterative development process of the manualized intervention with particular focus on the caregiver navigator sessions. The process included review of the literature and published patient navigation programs, expert and stakeholder review, and study team member review. Quantitative and qualitative data were captured from the first 15 participants randomized to receive the intervention, enrolled from February 2020 to December 2020. Four participants dropped from the study, 9 completed at least 7 modules, and 8 participants completed all 8. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected primarily from those who completed the intervention; data suggest caregivers were satisfied with the intervention and found it helpful. Our intervention is one of the first theory-based caregiver support interventions to include caregiver navigation in neuro-oncology. We use best-practice guidelines for design, including extensive stakeholder feedback. COVID-19 may have impacted recruitment and participation, but some preliminary data suggest that those able to engage with the intervention find it helpful. Data collection is ongoing in a larger trial. If effective, caregiver navigation could be a model for future interventions to ensure caregiver support.