Helping Her Heal: Randomized Clinical Trial to Enhance Dyadic Outcomes in Couples

Objective: The objective of this study was to test the short-term efficacy of a brief, fully manualized marital communication and interpersonal support intervention for couples facing recently diagnosed breast cancer.

Methods: A total of 322 women diagnosed within 6 months with stages 0 to III breast cancer and their 322 spouse caregivers were enrolled. Spouses in the experimental group received five 30- to 60-minute intervention sessions at 2-week intervals by master's-prepared patient educators; controls received the booklet, "What's Happening to the Woman I Love?" Outcomes were assessed at 3, 6, and 9 months using the linear mixed models within an intent-to-treat analysis.

Results: Compared with controls, at 3 months, spouse caregivers significantly improved on standardized measures of depressed mood, anxiety, cancer-related marital communication, interpersonal support, and self-care. All differences except depressed mood and anxiety were sustained at 9 months. Wives significantly improved at 3 months on marital communication and positive appraisal of spouses' interpersonal support; gains remained significant at 9 months. Compared with controls on chemotherapy, wives in the experimental group additionally improved on depressed mood and tended to improve on anxiety.

Conclusions: A brief, fully manualized intervention delivered directly to spouse caregivers early in the course of their wives' medical treatment improves caregivers' self-care and behavioral-emotional adjustment and wives' positive view of their spouses' support and communication. The brevity and manualized structure of the intervention argue strongly for its scalability, use in cost-sensitive settings, and its potential dissemination through e-health channels.