Adaptation and feasibility of a group intervention for parents after the loss of a co-parent to cancer: a...

After the loss of a parent, families with minor children face psychosocial stressors. The bereaved parent has to deal with their own grief and at the same time support the children. Providing professional support to the parents can improve well-being of parents, children and the family as a whole. However, such manualised interventions are missing for the German context. This study aims to translate and culturally adapt the parent group 'Resilient Parenting for Bereaved Families' (RPBF) of the Family Bereavement Program for the German context specifically for loss due to cancer, and to pilot evaluate its feasibility and potential effects.

In this mixed-methods pilot study, six to eight group leaders, who are experienced in working in bereavement support, will be trained to conduct the parent group and afterwards lead parent groups. We aim to conduct three to four parent groups with 6-8 parents each (total target sample size n=24-32). Parents participate in 10 biweekly parent group sessions on-site or online. We will assess feasibility, acceptability, satisfaction and preliminary effects on parental well-being, family coping and communication (baseline (t₀), post-intervention (t₁) and 12-week post-intervention follow-up (t₂)). Semistructured interviews with 10-12 parents will further explore experience and suggestions for refinement. Quantitative data will be analysed using descriptive and exploratory analyses and qualitative data will be analysed using qualitative content analysis.

The study was approved by the Local Psychological Ethics Committee of the Center for Psychosocial Medicine of the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (LPEK-0919). Upon completion, a German version of the Resilient Parenting for Bereaved Families (RPBF) parent group and the group leader training will be available. Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations. To make the results available to affected families, a lay summary will be written and disseminated in several ways.

The study was registered with the German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS00039060 (date of registration: 19 February 2026)).