Conquer Fear SUPPORT Intervention in Supporting Patients With Stage III-IV Lung or Gynecologic Cancer

Evaluate the enrollment (recruitment) rate over the study period. Feasibility will be deemed acceptable if at least 25 eligible participants are accrued within 9 months.

Evaluate attrition (drop-out rate) over time for enrolled participants. Feasibility will be deemed acceptable if the percentage of patients who drop-out does not exceed 20% by week 8 of the intervention and 50% by week 12 of the intervention.

Evaluate the percentage of sessions attended. Feasibility will be deemed acceptable if participants attend an average of 5 of the 7 scheduled sessions.

Fear of progression will be assessed using Fear of Progression Questionnaire-Short Form (FOP-Q-SF) at baseline (T1), 8 weeks (T2), and 12 weeks (T3). FOP-Q-SF consists of 12 items scored on a 5-point Likert scale (1=never to 5=very often); scores range from 12-60 with higher levels indicating greater FOP. Researchers have used a cut-off of 34 and above to indicate dysfunctional FOP.

Cancer-specific distress will be assessed using the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) at baseline (T1), 8 weeks (T2), and 12 weeks (T3). IES-R is a 22-item scale consisting of 3 subscales a) Intrusion; b) Avoidance; and c) Hyperarousal. Items are scored on a 0-4 response format. Subscale scores are calculated by taking the mean of the subscale responses. Total scores range from 0-88. A score of 24 or greater indicates clinical levels of distress.

Anxiety will be assessed using the PROMIS-Anxiety 8a at baseline (T1), 8 weeks (T2), and 12 weeks (T3). PROMIS-Anxiety measures fear, dread, worry, hyperarousal, and related somatic symptoms. The short-form consists of 8 items that are scored on a 0-5 response format. The raw score is calculated by summing the values of the response to each question (range 8-40). Scores are standardized such that the scale produces continuous T scores with a mean of 50 and a SD of 10, higher scores reflect higher distress. PROMIS T score thresholds for anxiety are: ˂ 55 normal; 55-64 mild; 65-74 moderate; ≥75 severe.

Depression will be assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) at baseline (T1), 8 weeks (T2), and 12 weeks (T3). The PHQ-9 includes the two major symptom domains: affective and somatic symptoms. It is rated from a 0 (not at all) to 3 (nearly every day) scale. Items are summed and a score of 10 or greater is considered clinically significant symptoms of depression. Scores of 0-4, 5-9, 10-14, and ≥15 represent minimal, mild, moderate, and severe levels of symptom burden.

Overall symptom distress will be assessed using the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale (MSAS) at baseline (T1), 8 weeks (T2), and 12 weeks (T3). The MSAS assesses 32 common symptoms experienced by cancer patients. A modified version of the MSAS will be used to evaluate the occurrence, severity, and distress of symptoms. Symptom severity is rated on a 4 point Likert scale (1=slight) to 4=very much). Distress is rated on a 0-4 Likert scale ranging from not at all (0) to very much (4). The physical symptom subscale is the average of the severity and distress associated with 12 physical symptoms. The psychological symptom subscale is the average of the severity and distress associated with 6 psychological symptoms. The total MSAS score (TMSAS) is the average of the symptom scores of all 32 symptoms; higher scores indicate greater symptom severity and distress.

Metacognitions (MCQ-30) will be assessed using the Metacognitions Questionnaire at baseline (T1), 8 weeks (T2), and 12 weeks (T3). The MCQ-30 is a 30-item questionnaire that assesses beliefs about worry. It consists of 5 subscales: Positive beliefs about worry; Negative beliefs about worry, Cognitive confidence; Need to control thoughts; and Cognitive self-consciousness. For each subscale, items are scored 1-4 and subscale scores range from 6-24. Total scores range from 30 to 120; higher scores indicate more dysfunctional metacognitions.

Mindfulness will be assessed using the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ-15) at baseline (T1), 8 weeks (T2), and 12 weeks (T3). The FFMQ-15 assesses five facets of mindfulness: observing, describing, acting with awareness, non-reactivity, and non-judging of inner experience. Items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never or rarely true) to 5 (very often or always true). 3 items comprise each subscale and subscale scores range from 3-15. Higher scores indicate greater engagement with mindfulness skills.