Skip to main content
An official website of the United States government
Government Funding Lapse
Because of a lapse in government funding, the information on this website may not be up to date, transactions submitted via the website may not be processed, and the agency may not be able to respond to inquiries until appropriations are enacted.

The NIH Clinical Center (the research hospital of NIH) is open. For more details about its operating status, please visit cc.nih.gov.

Updates regarding government operating status and resumption of normal operations can be found at opm.gov.

Evaluation of the Survivorship Needs Assessment Planning Tool for Improving Caregiver Burden and Symptom Management among Head and Neck Cancer Survivors and their Caregivers

Trial Status: active

This clinical trial evaluates the Survivorship Needs Assessment Planning (SNAP) tool for improving caregiver burden and symptom management among head and neck cancer survivors and their caregivers. Treatment of head and neck cancer includes combinations of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy that leave survivors with persistent toxicities after treatment and devastating consequences to quality of life. Transitional interventions from treatment to post-treatment are urgently needed to address late and long-term treatment effects, optimize adherence to complex rehabilitation care with multiple specialists, and facilitate coping with life-altering impairments in speech, swallowing, neck/shoulder mobility and appearance. Head and neck cancer caregivers, typically family and/or friends, also face physical, emotional and financial burdens with harmful effects on well-being. As treatment shifts to the home setting, caregivers can experience isolation as they face persistent and new treatment-related toxicities along with complex post-treatment medication regimens and nutritional and speech concerns of survivors. When cancer caregivers feel better prepared, both survivors and caregivers experience more positive outcomes. Unfortunately, most head and neck cancer interventions have focused on active treatment and excluded caregivers, failing to address caregivers’ needs and changing roles in the post-treatment period. The supportive care SNAP tool for head and neck cancer patients and their primary caregivers after treatment may help better prepare them for and cope with post-treatment challenges and promote positive recovery after treatment.