As part of whole-person care, the Allina Health Givens Brain Tumor Center and Neuroscience Research recognize the impact a brain tumor diagnosis can have on entire families and is conducting research around family experiences as well as patients. Meghan Tierney, PhD, RN is leading a study, sponsored by the Humor to Fight the Tumor Foundation, exploring both the physical and psychological impacts of caring for a loved one diagnosed with glioblastoma. Care partners are the primary support person for their friend/family member who is going through treatment for brain cancer, and this can be a challenging role to fill.
This research study tracks changes in care partners’ saliva cortisol levels, mood, and sleep quality in addition to the amount of time required and difficulty of care offered to support their loved one over time. Cortisol is a hormone produced by the body to help regulate physiological responses to stress. Chronic stress can result in chronically elevated cortisol, which has been linked to anxiety, depression, insomnia, heart disease, weight gain, and a number of other health problems. This study aims to explore the long-term cortisol levels in care partners of patients with glioblastoma, and cortisol levels will be analyzed in relation to time and difficulty of caregiving, mood, and sleep quality in hopes of laying the groundwork for future research and identifying areas in which we can improve care partner support. Care partners will provide up to 12 saliva cortisol samples and 12 questionnaire responses over the course of up to three years.
Care partners provide an irreplaceable amount of care for patients with brain tumors, and it is important to identify things that can help care partners support their loved ones as well as maintain their own health. Research has shown that when care partners do better, patients also do better. Therefore, while this study will provide a foundation for future research exploring the long-term health impacts of caregiving and validation of the need for interventions to support these care partners, it may also identify secondary benefits for patients.
The study protocol has been finalized, approved by the Allina Health Institutional Review Board, and training and coordination established between the Allina Health Givens Brain Tumor Center team, Neuroscience Research team and Laboratory Services. Recruitment began in mid-April 2021. We hope to enroll up to 20 care partners and two have enrolled to date. The study is active and open to care partners of patients who have been newly diagnosed with glioblastoma.