A feasibility study of an integrated couples-based supportive programme for Chinese couples living with colorectal cancer.
Xingjuan Luo, Jieyu Li, Qian Cao and 4 others
PMID 33570269WHAT IT FOUND
Chinese couples affected by colorectal cancer rated a blended online and face-to-face support programme feasible and acceptable.
Self-efficacy improved, but with no control group this cannot show the programme caused the change.
Key findings
01Retention was 83.3%, and 17 of the 20 dyads who completed post-intervention assessment attended all three face-to-face sessions.
02Participants rated usefulness, ease of use and satisfaction above 5.2 on a 7-point scale.
03Self-efficacy improved by small-to-medium amounts in patients (d = 0.36) and spouses (d = 0.37), and 55% of patients and 60% of spouses showed clinically important change.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
There was no control group, so the improved results cannot be conclusively attributed to the intervention. The sample was small, with 20 patient-spousal dyads completing post-intervention assessment, and it limited inferential testing. The programme combined online sessions, weekly reminders and face-to-face sessions, so the contribution of any single component cannot be separated. There was no follow-up beyond six weeks, so longer-term effects are unknown. Participants were Chinese couples with smartphone access who communicated in Mandarin, so generalisability may be limited.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the improvements in self-efficacy and other outcomes as proof that the programme works. This was a small single-arm feasibility study with no control group, so the changes could have occurred without the intervention.