Training and Recruitment to Implement the CASA Psychosocial Intervention in Cancer Care

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Clinical Psychology
• Implementation Science

Background:

• Sustainable implementation of psychosocial interventions requires effective training and recruitment strategies.
• Culturally adapted psycho-oncology interventions need specific preparation for community partners and doctoral students.
• The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) provides a structure for evaluating implementation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate two distinct training programs and recruitment procedures for psycho-oncology interventions.
• To explore preliminary pre-post outcomes of the Caregiver-Patients Support to Cope with Advanced Cancer (CASA) intervention.
• To assess the feasibility and effectiveness of training and intervention delivery in a diverse population.

Main Methods:

• A pre-pilot study involving three clinical psychology graduate students and two community partners.
• Training programs focused on the CASA intervention and recruitment strategies.
• Descriptive pre- and post-assessments, qualitative feedback, and related-samples nonparametric analysis of intervention outcomes.
• Recruitment via institutional (Puerto Rico Biobank) and community-based channels.

Main Results:

• Doctoral students showed significant knowledge gains post-training (M=9.3) compared to pre-training (M=3.3).
• Community partners also demonstrated knowledge gains (pre-test M=4.5; post-test M=9.5).
• Preliminary CASA intervention outcomes revealed significant improvements in spiritual well-being (p=0.009), quality of life (p=0.003), and reductions in depressive (p=0.006), anxiety (p=0.008), and distress (p=0.028) symptoms.
• Community partners achieved a 90.9% recruitment success rate, while institutional referrals enrolled 61.5% of dyads.

Conclusions:

• Training programs are feasible and enhance knowledge for delivering psychosocial interventions.
• The CASA intervention shows promising preliminary results for improving psychosocial well-being in Latino dyads with advanced cancer.
• Combining institutional support with community engagement is crucial for enhancing the sustainability and accessibility of psycho-oncology care.