PartnerCARE—a psycho-oncological online intervention for partners of patients with cancer: study protocol for a randomised controlled feasibility trial

INTRODUCTION: Cancer burdens not only the patient but also the partner to a comparable extent. Partners of patients with cancer are highly involved in the caring process and therefore often experience distress and report a low quality of life. Interventions for supporting partners are scarce. Existing ones are rarely used by partners because they are often time-consuming per se and offer only limited flexibility with regard to schedule and location. The online intervention PartnerCARE has been developed on the basis of caregiver needs and consists of six consecutive sessions and four optional sessions, which are all guided by an e-coach. The study aims to evaluate feasibility and acceptance of the online intervention PartnerCARE and the related trial process. In addition, first insights of the putative efficacy of PartnerCARE should be gained. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A two-arm parallel-group randomised controlled trial will be conducted to compare the PartnerCARE online intervention with a waitlist control group. The study aims to recruit in total n=60 partners of patients with any type of cancer across different access paths (eg, university medical centres, support groups, social media). Congruent with feasibility study objectives, the primary outcome comprises recruitment process, study procedure, acceptance and satisfaction with the intervention (Client Satisfaction Questionnaire adapted to Internet-based interventions), possible negative effects (Inventory of Negative Effects in Psychotherapy) and dropout rates. Secondary outcomes include quality of life, distress, depression, anxiety, caregiver burden, fear of progression, social support, self-efficacy, coping and loneliness. Online measurements will be performed by self-assessment at three time points (baseline/pre-randomisation, 2 months and 4 months after randomisation). Data analyses will be based on intention-to-treat principle. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethics approval has been granted by the Ethics Committee of the University of Ulm (No 390/18). Results from this study will be disseminated to relevant healthcare communities, in peer-reviewed journals and at scientific and clinical conferences. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: DRKS00017019.