“Resilient Caregivers”—A Randomized Trial of a Resilience‐Based Intervention for Psychologically Distressed Partner Caregivers of Patients With Cancer

BACKGROUND: Intimate partners of cancer patients often experience significant distress. We examined the effectiveness of the "Resilient Caregivers" group intervention for improving psychological outcomes among distressed partner caregivers in a randomized trial (Clinicaltrials.gov ID: NCT04610034). METHODS: Participants were recruited through an oncology department and two cancer counseling centers in Denmark. Partners of patients receiving cancer treatment and experiencing distress (> 4 on the distress thermometer) were eligible and randomized 1:1 to either the intervention or usual care, stratified by sex and age (≤/> 50 years). "Resilient Caregivers" consists of seven manualized sessions developed according to a resilience framework focusing on meta-reflective skills, coping strategies and values clarification in relation to being a partner of a patient with cancer. Participants completed questionnaires at baseline, 3-, 6- and 12-months assessing anxiety (primary outcome) and depression, distress, stress, resilience, quality of life and sleep quality. Intervention effects were analyzed using mixed models for repeated measures. RESULTS: Between April 2021 and May 2023, 79 partners were included (39 intervention, 40 control). Most were female (74%), above 50 years old (80%) and had at least a bachelor's degree (86%). There were significant improvements in anxiety at 12 months (mean difference: -2.5, 95% confidence interval: -4.6 to -0.4, p = 0.018), and depression and quality of life at 3 months. Between-group differences were not significant for other outcomes. Satisfaction was high and participants valued the group format. CONCLUSIONS: "Resilient Caregivers" showed encouraging findings and may be a potentially cost-effective approach to providing support to partner caregivers.