Parents Who Have Lost a Child to CancerNCT00968500
Understanding the Psychosocial Needs of Parents Who Have Lost a Child to Cancer
An observational study of Parents Who Have Lost a Child to Cancer, run by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center at 2 sites in United States.
Trial summary
The purpose of this study is to understand the experiences and needs of parents who have lost a child to cancer. This will aid us in developing an intervention that may help parents cope with their loss. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Parents Who Have Lost a Child to Cancer
- What is being tested?
- Questionnaires/Interviews
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- How many people
- 160 participants
- Where
- 2 sitesUnited States
- Study dates
- Aug 2009to 2 Jun 2027
- Phase
- Observational
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 years and older
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Study population: Bereaved parents will be identified through death records kept by the Department of Pediatrics and cross-referenced with the deceased child's MSK medical record.
Who may be able to join
- Loss of a child to cancer between 6 months and 6 years ago
- Loss of a child between the ages of 6 months and 25 years
- Biological or adoptive parent or stepparent
- Parent must be age 18 or over
- In the judgment of investigators/consenting professionals able to comprehend English to complete study assessments
- To be eligible for the qualitative interview, participants more score of 19 or less (< 19)or 34 or greater (> 34) on the PG-13 to qualify
Who cannot join
- Significant psychiatric disturbance sufficient, in the investigator's judgment, to preclude completion of the assessment measures, interview or informed consent.
Trial locations and contacts
2 sites in 1 country.
United States2 sites
NCI Clinical Center
Bethesda, Maryland
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
New York, New York, 10065
About this study
The purpose of this study is to understand the experiences and needs of parents who have lost a child to cancer. This will aid us in developing an intervention that may help parents cope with their loss.
- Conditions
- Parents Who Have Lost a Child to Cancer
- Being tested
- Questionnaires/Interviews
- Keywords
- Grief, bereavement, questionnaires, 09-107
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Questionnaires/InterviewsBehavioural
Prior to the interview, the measure of prolonged grief disorder symptoms, the PG-13, will be re-administered to participants as a quality assurance check. We will administer 7 self-report measures, which participants can complete in our office, at home, or via telephone, depending on their preferences. These questionnaires should take approximately 75 to 80 minutes to complete. If you are asked to take part in the in-depth interview and you choose to take part, the interview that will take approximately 60 to 90 minutes to complete, depending on the length of the responses to the questions asked.
The participant may also be asked if they would be willing to fill out an additional questionnaire about parents' thoughts on the most appropriate timing for raising the topic of a postmortem examination and factors that are important to include in discussions. Despite its importance, autopsy is often not discussed with parents whose child is dying from cancer.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Parents Who Have Lost a Child to Cancer | The overall goal of the proposed cross-sectional study is to obtain information necessary to the development of an effective Meaning-Centered Grief Intervention for parents who lost a child to cancer. In order to identify a subset of parents with whom we will conduct qualitative interviews with a subset of participants to address Aims 1 and 2, we will first screen participants to determine their levels of Prolonged Grief Disorder symptoms using a quantitative assessment (PG-13). The screening measure (PG-13) and the additional questionnaires included in the quantitative battery of measures will be analyzed to achieve Aim 3. Receives: Behavioral: Questionnaires/Interviews |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Identify the unique qualitative themes related to finding meaning among parents who lost a child to cancer to inform development of a conceptually sound meaning-centered grief intervention.
Measured: 2 years
Secondary outcomes (2)
Determine differences in qualitative themes of meaning in parents in the high and low Prolonged Grief Disorder subgroups to help select a target population for a meaning-centered grief intervention.
Measured: 2 years
Explore and identify factors associated with bereaved parents' psychosocial service underutilization to guide the development of an acceptable and feasible meaning-centered grief intervention format.
Measured: 2 years
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted31 Aug 2009 (estimated)
- Study startAug 2009
- Primary completion2 Jun 2027 (estimated)
- Study completion2 Jun 2027 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Parents Who Have Lost a Child to CancerStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer CenterThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Observational
- Observational model
- Cohort
- Time perspective
- Cross-sectional
- Enrolment
- 160 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Cancer Institute (NCI), Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Ohio State University, University of Memphis, University of Southern California
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Rebecca Saracino, PhD, Principal investigator, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT00968500
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 09-107
- Status last verified
- Apr 2026
- First submitted
- 28 Aug 2009
- Last updated
- 21 Apr 2026
- Results posted
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 21 Apr 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Understanding the Psychosocial Needs of Parents Who Have Lost a Child to Cancer
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT00968500
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 09-107
- Conditions
- Parents Who Have Lost a Child to Cancer
- Keywords
- Grief, bereavement, questionnaires, 09-107
- Study type
- Observational
- Recruitment status
- Active, not recruiting
- Enrolment
- 160 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer CenterUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Cancer Institute (NCI), Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Ohio State University, University of Memphis, University of Southern California
- Study start
- Aug 2009
- Primary completion
- 2 Jun 2027 (estimated)
- Study completion
- 2 Jun 2027 (estimated)
- First posted
- 31 Aug 2009 (estimated)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The purpose of this study is to understand the experiences and needs of parents who have lost a child to cancer. This will aid us in developing an intervention that may help parents cope with their loss.
Study design
- Observational model
- Cohort
- Time perspective
- Cross-sectional
- Number of arms
- 1
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Parents Who Have Lost a Child to Cancer | – | Behavioral: Questionnaires/InterviewsThe overall goal of the proposed cross-sectional study is to obtain information necessary to the development of an effective Meaning-Centered Grief Intervention for parents who lost a child to cancer. In order to identify a subset of parents with whom we will conduct qualitative interviews with a subset of participants to address Aims 1 and 2, we will first screen participants to determine their levels of Prolonged Grief Disorder symptoms using a quantitative assessment (PG-13). The screening measure (PG-13) and the additional questionnaires included in the quantitative battery of measures will be analyzed to achieve Aim 3. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
- Study population
- Bereaved parents will be identified through death records kept by the Department of Pediatrics and cross-referenced with the deceased child's MSK medical record.
Key inclusion criteria (6 listed)
- Loss of a child to cancer between 6 months and 6 years ago
- Loss of a child between the ages of 6 months and 25 years
- Biological or adoptive parent or stepparent
- Parent must be age 18 or over
- In the judgment of investigators/consenting professionals able to comprehend English to complete study assessments
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Significant psychiatric disturbance sufficient, in the investigator's judgment, to preclude completion of the assessment measures, interview or informed consent.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Questionnaires/InterviewsPrior to the interview, the measure of prolonged grief disorder symptoms, the PG-13, will be re-administered to participants as a quality assurance check. We will administer 7 self-report measures, which participants can complete in our office, at home, or via telephone, depending on their preferences. These questionnaires should take approximately 75 to 80 minutes to complete. If you are asked to take part in the in-depth interview and you choose to take part, the interview that will take approximately 60 to 90 minutes to complete, depending on the length of the responses to the questions asked. The participant may also be asked if they would be willing to fill out an additional questionnaire about parents' thoughts on the most appropriate timing for raising the topic of a postmortem examination and factors that are important to include in discussions. Despite its importance, autopsy is often not discussed with parents whose child is dying from cancer. | Behavioural | Parents Who Have Lost a Child to Cancer |
Primary outcome
Identify the unique qualitative themes related to finding meaning among parents who lost a child to cancer to inform development of a conceptually sound meaning-centered grief intervention.
Time frame: 2 years
2 secondary outcomes
Determine differences in qualitative themes of meaning in parents in the high and low Prolonged Grief Disorder subgroups to help select a target population for a meaning-centered grief intervention.
Time frame: 2 years
Explore and identify factors associated with bereaved parents' psychosocial service underutilization to guide the development of an acceptable and feasible meaning-centered grief intervention format.
Time frame: 2 years
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 21 Apr 2026.
- Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer CenterLink provided by the sponsor.
Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Rebecca Saracino, PhD principal investigator
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
2 sites in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
An observational study of Parents Who Have Lost a Child to Cancer, run by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center at 2 sites in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 6 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: under way, not looking for participants, as of the sponsor's last update on 21 Apr 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 2 sites in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Identify the unique qualitative themes related to finding meaning among parents who lost a child to cancer to inform development of a conceptually sound meaning-centered grief intervention. (time frame: 2 years). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 21 Apr 2026.