- To compare the effect of CHESS with the Clinician Report to Usual Care on caregiver negative affect. As a primary outcome, we hypothesize that with the information, skills building and emotional support CHESS offers to caregivers, along with improving communication with clinicians through the Clinician Report, that caregivers given access to CHESS will experience significantly less negative affect, compared to a Usual Care control.
- To conduct secondary analyses examining the effects of CHESS on patient and caregiver quality of life, symptom distress, health service use, caregiver burden, bereavement adjustment, as well as the differential effect of the treatments on patients of minority status. The secondary hypotheses predict that:
a) use of the CHESS system will have significantly positive effects on patient quality of life, symptom distress, health service use, caregiver quality of life, caregiver burden, and bereavement adjustment compared to a Usual Care control.
b) Minority status of caregivers (and patients) will interact with treatment condition, such that minorities will benefit more than Caucasians because they have fewer resources (outside of CHESS) to support then in their caregiving efforts.
- To examine the mechanisms underlying the effects of CHESS, specifically exploring if they are mediated by symptom management, calls from clinicians, caregiving burden, coping self-efficacy, information competence, needs met at clinical visits and moderated by amount of CHESS or Internet use.
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