The Effectiveness of an Online Support Group in Enhancing Recovery Identity and Health-Related Quality of Life

Study Overview
=================
Brief Summary
-----------------
Background Ovarian cancer poses challenges for middle-aged and older patients, impacting physical and self-conceptual aspects. A research gap exists on the impact of online support groups (SPs) on identity synthesis and Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) for these patients. Objective To assess the feasibility and efficacy of an online SG in influencing recovery identity and HRQOL in middle-aged and older ovarian cancer patients (MDOCP). Method A four-week randomized controlled trial, followed by a three-month evaluation, was conducted, employing a mobile online SG and an offline SG both grounded in The Social Identity Model of Identity Change. Recovery identity, HRQOL, and participant engagement were utilized to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of interventions.

Official Title
-----------------
Understanding the Effectiveness of an Online Support Group in Enhancing Recovery Identity and Health-Related Quality of Life of Middle-aged and Older Ovarian Cancer Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Conditions
-----------------
Ovarian Cancer

Intervention / Treatment
-----------------
* Behavioral: mobile online support group (experiment group)
* Behavioral: offline support group (control group)


Participation Criteria
=================
Eligibility Criteria
-----------------
Inclusion Criteria: Older than 44 years old diagnosis of ovarian cancer expected survival time of greater than four months fluent in using smartphones and the WeChat mini program normal cognitive function capability to participate in follow-up surveys. Exclusion Criteria: were currently participating in or had previously participated in other mental treatment groups had been diagnosed with any other type of cancer.

Ages Eligible for Study
-----------------
Minimum Age: 45 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
-----------------
Female

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
-----------------
No

Study Plan
=================
How is the study designed?
-----------------

Design Details

Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: experiment group (online support group)<br>The experimental group engaged with the mobile application use for four weeks, with specific tasks including completing the four mandatory courses within one month and submitting at least two health records and online posts every week. | Behavioral: mobile online support group (experiment group)<br>* The experimental group engaged with the mobile application use for four weeks, with specific tasks including completing the four mandatory courses within one month and submitting at least two health records and online posts every week.<br>|
| Other: control group<br>The control group participates in the offline group intervention that last for four weeks. Participants in the control group will participant in four weekly workshop that last between 1 hour to 1.5 hours. | Behavioral: offline support group (control group)<br>* The control group participates in the offline group intervention that last for four weeks. Participants in the control group will participant in four weekly workshop that last between 1 hour to 1.5 hours.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
-----------------
Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Illness identity | The acceptance of illness identity was measured using the Illness Identity Questionnaire's acceptance sub-scale, consisting of 6 items (Oris et al., 2016). | Data collection occurred at three time points: before the intervention, immediately after the intervention, and at a three-month follow-up | 
| Maintenance of identity | The maintenance of former social identities was measured using the Maintenance of Group Memberships sub-scale of Exeter Identity Transition Scales (Haslam et al., 2008), encompassing 4 items. | Data collection occurred at three time points: before the intervention, immediately after the intervention, and at a three-month follow-up | 
| New identity | The new meaningful social identity was measured using the New Group Memberships sub-scale of the Exeter Identity Transition Scales, which includes 4 questions. Responses were rated on a scale from 1 to 5, with higher scores indicating a higher level of acceptance of the identity. | Data collection occurred at three time points: before the intervention, immediately after the intervention, and at a three-month follow-up | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Health related quality of life | Health related quality of life was measured using the Short Form Health Survey 12 (SF-12) (Jakobusson, 2007), which includes twelve questions. Each item is transformed into a scale ranging from 0 to 100 according to a specific scoring algorithm. These scores are then aggregated to generate two summary scores: the Physical Component Summary (PCS) and the Mental Component Summary (MCS). The resulting scores are norm-based, comparing an individual's health status to population norms. Health related quality of life is calculate as the summary of PCS and MCS. Higher scores indicate better health related quality of life, with scores around 50 representing the average. | Data collection occurred at three time points: before the intervention, immediately after the intervention, and at a three-month follow-up |