Emerging From the Haze™: Pilot Feasibility Study Comparing Two Virtual Formats of a Cognitive Rehabilitation...

Area of Science:

• Oncology Nursing
• Rehabilitation Psychology
• Digital Health Interventions

Background:

• Cancer survivors often experience cognitive impairment post-chemotherapy, impacting quality of life.
• Virtual delivery methods offer scalable solutions for supportive care interventions.
• Emerging From the Haze™ (Haze) is a cognitive rehabilitation program.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility of two virtual delivery methods for the Haze program.
• To compare virtual Haze delivery against a waitlist control (WLC) in cancer survivors.
• To gather preliminary data on the effectiveness of virtual Haze interventions.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial with 93 participants reporting cognitive impairment after chemotherapy.
• Three arms: virtual live group Haze, virtual prerecorded group Haze, and WLC.
• Data collected at baseline, week 10, and week 14.

Main Results:

• Feasibility of virtual Haze delivery was confirmed.
• The live virtual group showed significant cognitive function improvement at week 10 versus WLC.
• The prerecorded virtual group demonstrated clinical improvement at week 10 and significant gains in physical activity, sleep, and quality of life at week 14 versus WLC.

Conclusions:

• Pilot data support the feasibility and potential effectiveness of virtual cognitive rehabilitation for cancer survivors.
• Prerecorded Haze delivery shows promise for scalability and clinical impact.
• Further multisite research is recommended to validate these findings.