A Pilot RCT of the PRISM Intervention for AYAs With Cancer

The experience of serious illness among adolescents and young adults (AYAs) is unique because they face distinctive developmental challenges, transitions, and choices related to education, employment, identity, relationships and family. Age-specific interventions are needed to promote positive resources and outcomes. Resilience, for example, is a construct describing an individual's capacity to maintain psychological and/or physical well-being in the face of stress, and is a good candidate to buffer the negative effects of stress. While few studies have described positive outcomes in AYA patients with chronic disease, and fewer still have suggested mechanisms to promote resilience, evidence suggests promoting "resilience-resources" (e.g., stress-management and goal setting skills, meaning-making and positive-reframing of negative experiences), as a means to manage stress may be valuable.

We have previously described models and factors of resilience among AYAs with cancer as well as parents of children with cancer, and demonstrated that self-perceptions of resilience are strongly associated with outcomes. Through iterative pilot testing, we have successfully developed a novel, patient-centered resilience-based intervention, the "Promoting Resilience in Stress Management" (PRISM) intervention.

The overall goal of the PRISM intervention is to improve AYA self-perceived resilience, thereby reducing AYA distress, improving quality of life, and minimizing risky health behaviors. The brief format involves 4, 50-minute, one-on-one sessions approximately 2 weeks apart, plus a 5th, optional, family-inclusive session 2-4 weeks following session #4. These are complimented with age-specific handouts describing the skills and opportunities to practice them, as well as monthly "booster" sessions. Specifically, the intervention incorporates four primary skills: 1) stress management/mindfulness; 2) goal-setting; 3) cognitive restructuring; and, 4) meaning-making/benefit finding.

Enrolled patients will be between 13 and 25 years-old with at least a 2 week history of new or recurrent malignancy. They will be randomized to receive the PRISM intervention or standard psychosocial supportive care. Patients in both groups will be invited to complete quantitative surveys at the time of enrollment and then 2-, 4-, 6-, and 12-months later. Participants will be compensated for their time.

The primary outcome of the study is self-perceived resilience, as measured by the Connor-Davidson Resilience Score, at 6-months post-enrollment. Secondary outcomes will assess resilience scores at 4, 6, and 12 months, as well as self-efficacy, anxiety, depression, benefit-finding, quality of life, goal-setting skills, and health behaviors at 6 and 12 months.

The study is anticipated to accrue a total of 100 patients over 2 years.