Advanced CancerROCKSNCT07428278
Resilience-Building for Advance Care Planning
A study testing ROCKS in people with Advanced Cancer and End of Life, run by University of Illinois at Chicago at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
The aims of this study are to (1) assess the feasibility, acceptability, and usability of the ROCKS intervention among patients with advanced cancer and their family caregivers through a randomized controlled trial in a cancer center setting; (2) evaluate the preliminary efficacy of ROCKS, as compared to usual care… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 80 years
- Conditions the study is for
- Advanced Cancer, End of Life
- What is being tested?
- ROCKS
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 152 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 9 Jun 2026to 31 Jul 2028
- Phase
- Interventional
- 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 to 80 years
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Eligible patients will (1) be ≥ 18 years of age; (2) be diagnosed with stage 3 or 4 cancer; and (3) have a family caregiver who is willing to participate.
- Eligible family caregivers will be ≥ 18 years of age. All participants must be able to read, write, and speak English with minimal assistance from others and have access to the internet on a smartphone, laptop, or computer.
Who cannot join
- Patient participants will be ineligible if they have (1) a Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire (SPMSQ) score < 8; or (2) have completed any form of advance directive.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
United States1 site, 1 recruiting
- Recruiting
University of Illinois Chicago
Chicago, Illinois, 60607
Li-Ting H. Longcoy, 312-996-3024, liting@uic.edu
About this study
Official title: Facilitating Advance Care Planning Discussions Between Patients With Advanced Cancer and Their Family Caregivers Using a Resilience-Building Intervention: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
The aims of this study are to (1) assess the feasibility, acceptability, and usability of the ROCKS intervention among patients with advanced cancer and their family caregivers through a randomized controlled trial in a cancer center setting; (2) evaluate the preliminary efficacy of ROCKS, as compared to usual care, on changes in completion of advance directives; and (3) explore the dyadic effects of resilience on self-efficacy, optimism, dyadic communication and coping, anxiety, and depression using an actor-partner interdependence model.
Read the detailed description
Patients with advanced cancer have not fully benefited from advance care planning due to the high levels of anxiety and depression experienced and other barriers that affect their appraisals and coping. Despite the protective effects of resilience, there have been few clinical trials improving the resilience skills of patients with advanced cancer and their family caregivers to help initiate advance care planning discussions and sustain engagement. This research evaluates the impact of a web-based resilience-building intervention called ROCKS on enhancing the completion of advance directives, as well as improving resilience, coping, anxiety, and depression among patients with advanced cancer and their family caregivers.
- Conditions
- Advanced Cancer, End of Life
- Being tested
- ROCKS, Usual Care
- Keywords
- Resilience, Advance Care Planning
- Medical subject headings
- Death
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
ROCKSBehavioural
The intervention will be provided to participants to strengthen optimism, communication skills, knowledge, and self-efficacy to support patients and family caregivers in engaging in advance care planning discussions.
Usual CareBehavioural
An advance directive called Five Wishes will be provided to participants to increase their knowledge about advance care planning.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| ROCKS | Experimental | Participants assigned to this arm will receive a web-based resilience-building intervention. Receives: Behavioral: ROCKS |
| Usual Care | Active comparator | Participants assigned to this arm will receive an advance directive called Five Wishes. Receives: Behavioral: Usual Care |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Completion of advance directives
Completion of Five Wishes
Measured: Week 8
Secondary outcomes (7)
Resilience
Assessed using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (Range: 0-100; higher scores indicate a greater level of resilience)
Measured: Week 8
Optimism
Assessed using the Revised Compound Psychological Capital Scale (Range: 3-18; higher scores indicate a greater level of optimism)
Measured: Week 8
Dyadic communication and coping
Assessed using the Dyadic Coping Inventory (Range: 35-175; higher scores indicate greater perceived communication and dyadic coping)
Measured: Week 8
Knowledge
Assessed using the Advance Care Planning Engagement Survey (Range: 2-10; Higher scores indicate a greater knowledge of advance care planning)
Measured: Week 8
Self-efficacy
Assessed using the Advance Care Planning Engagement Survey (Range: 12-50; Higher scores indicate greater self-efficacy in advance care planning)
Measured: Week 8
Anxiety
Assessed using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (Range: 0-21; Higher scores indicate higher levels of anxiety)
Measured: Week 8
Depression
Assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (Range: 0-27; Higher scores indicate higher levels of depression)
Measured: Week 8
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted23 Feb 2026
- Study start9 Jun 2026
- Primary completion31 May 2028 (estimated)
- Study completion31 Jul 2028 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Advanced CancerStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- 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
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Supportive care
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Triple blind
- Who is masked
- Care provider, Investigator, Outcomes assessor
- Enrolment
- 152 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of Illinois at Chicago
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07428278
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 2023-0430: Aim 4-6
- Other IDs
- R00NR020358
- Acronym
- ROCKS
- Status last verified
- Feb 2026
- First submitted
- 16 Feb 2026
- Last updated
- 8 Oct 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- Yes
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 8 Oct 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Facilitating Advance Care Planning Discussions Between Patients With Advanced Cancer and Their Family Caregivers Using a Resilience-Building Intervention: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07428278
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- ROCKS / 2023-0430: Aim 4-6
- Conditions
- Advanced Cancer, End of Life
- Keywords
- Resilience, Advance Care Planning
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Recruiting
- Enrolment
- 152 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- University of Illinois at ChicagoUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)
- Study start
- 9 Jun 2026 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 31 May 2028 (estimated)
- Study completion
- 31 Jul 2028 (estimated)
- First posted
- 23 Feb 2026 (actual)
- 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 aims of this study are to (1) assess the feasibility, acceptability, and usability of the ROCKS intervention among patients with advanced cancer and their family caregivers through a randomized controlled trial in a cancer center setting; (2) evaluate the preliminary efficacy of ROCKS, as compared to usual care, on changes in completion of advance directives; and (3) explore the dyadic effects of resilience on self-efficacy, optimism, dyadic communication and coping, anxiety, and depression using an actor-partner interdependence model.
Detailed description
Patients with advanced cancer have not fully benefited from advance care planning due to the high levels of anxiety and depression experienced and other barriers that affect their appraisals and coping. Despite the protective effects of resilience, there have been few clinical trials improving the resilience skills of patients with advanced cancer and their family caregivers to help initiate advance care planning discussions and sustain engagement. This research evaluates the impact of a web-based resilience-building intervention called ROCKS on enhancing the completion of advance directives, as well as improving resilience, coping, anxiety, and depression among patients with advanced cancer and their family caregivers.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Supportive care
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Triple blind (care provider, investigator, outcomes assessor)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| ROCKS | Experimental | Behavioral: ROCKSParticipants assigned to this arm will receive a web-based resilience-building intervention. |
| Usual Care | Active comparator | Behavioral: Usual CareParticipants assigned to this arm will receive an advance directive called Five Wishes. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 80 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (2 listed)
- Eligible patients will (1) be ≥ 18 years of age; (2) be diagnosed with stage 3 or 4 cancer; and (3) have a family caregiver who is willing to participate.
- Eligible family caregivers will be ≥ 18 years of age. All participants must be able to read, write, and speak English with minimal assistance from others and have access to the internet on a smartphone, laptop, or computer.
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Patient participants will be ineligible if they have (1) a Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire (SPMSQ) score < 8; or (2) have completed any form of advance directive.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| ROCKSThe intervention will be provided to participants to strengthen optimism, communication skills, knowledge, and self-efficacy to support patients and family caregivers in engaging in advance care planning discussions. | Behavioural | ROCKS |
| Usual CareAn advance directive called Five Wishes will be provided to participants to increase their knowledge about advance care planning. | Behavioural | Usual Care |
Primary outcome
Completion of advance directives
Time frame: Week 8
Completion of Five Wishes
7 secondary outcomes
Resilience
Time frame: Week 8
Optimism
Time frame: Week 8
Dyadic communication and coping
Time frame: Week 8
Knowledge
Time frame: Week 8
Self-efficacy
Time frame: Week 8
Anxiety
Time frame: Week 8
Depression
Time frame: Week 8
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 8 Oct 2026.
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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.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing ROCKS in people with Advanced Cancer and End of Life, run by University of Illinois at Chicago at 1 site 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 2 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: looking for participants now, as of the sponsor's last update on 8 Oct 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site 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?
Contact Li-Ting Longcoy (312-996-3024, liting@uic.edu), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Completion of advance directives (time frame: Week 8). 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 8 Oct 2026.