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| Phase II Problem Solving Study team. From left to right, standing: Ladan Foruraghi CRNP; LCDR Leslie Wehrlen RN, BSN, OCN®; Donna Chauvet CRNP; Olena Prachenko MA; Julie Kohn MS, RN, PMHCNS-BC; Gwenyth Wallen RN, PhD; LCDR Margaret Bevans RN, PhD, AOCN®. Seated: Patricia Prince MEd, LICSW; Nonniekaye Shelburne CRNP, MS AOCN®. Not pictured: Matthew Loscalzo MSW; Karen Soeken PhD and James Zabora ScD. |
Extensive work has been completed documenting effects of caregiving. There are two researchers currently exploring caregiver outcomes at the NIH Clinical Center. Margaret Bevans, RN, PhD is a Nurse Scientist with the NIH Clinical Center’s Nursing & Patient Care Services; Lori Wiener, PhD is a Staff Scientist with the Pediatric Oncology Branch of the National Cancer Institute.
Dr. Bevans’ research portfolio includes examining outcomes in the transplant recipient-caregiver team during allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation; an intense, but limited caregiving experience. The ultimate goal of her work is to better to understand and to develop supportive programs and resources for caregivers of transplant recipients.
The family member is often the primary source of practical and social support for individuals with cancer and may be a factor in receiving and surviving blood/marrow stem cell transplantation. Therefore, Dr. Bevans was interested in understanding the experience of transplant caregivers. In 2007, she launched a study titled A Feasibility Study to Test and Individualized Dyadic Problem-Solving Education Intervention to Improve Problem-Solving Skills of Patients and Family Caregivers. As a follow-up study in October 2008, she launched a study titled A Phase II Clinical Trial to Determine the Effectiveness of Problem Solving Education in Caregivers and Patients During Allogeneic HSCT which completed accrual in 2010. Dr. Bevans’ next study launched in November 2011 and examines biomarkers of stress in caregivers of allogeneic stem cell transplant caregivers.
Margaret F. Bevans PhD, RN, AOCN, Clinical Nurse Scientist
Read more about Caregiving burden, stress, and health effects among family caregivers of adult cancer patients at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22274687.
Dr. Lori Wiener leads The Psychosocial Support & Research Program of the Pediatric Oncology Branch in the National Cancer Institute (NCI), a team which provides needed clinical services to patients, families, and staff. Examples of ongoing clinical services for patients and family include twice weekly education/support groups, Coffee, Tea, & Chat, which are open to all family members and patients on such topics as adherence, pain control, parenting issues, mind and body wellness, and coping strategies. They are developing a planning guide that addresses practical and emotional issues parents begin to consider when treatment is no longer considered curable.
Dr. Wiener along with the psychosocial services staff is currently enrolling participants in several research studies aimed at reducing caregiver burden including: An International Exploratory Study of the Characteristics of and Challenges for International Families Seeking Medical Care in the United States and Characterizing Lone Parenting: A Multi-Institutional Pilot Study of the Perceptions of Support and Perceived Stress of Lone Parents of Children with Cancer. Patient and caregiver needs are also being addressed in a study targeting reduction of social isolation when medical isolation is required.
Lori Wiener, PhD, Staff Scientist