Integrating Supportive Care in Cystic Fibrosis

Individuals living with cystic fibrosis (CF) commonly report high symptom burden, poor quality of life, and additional psychosocial stressors; these burdens are particularly heightened in advanced stages of the disease. Although supportive care (aka palliative care) has been shown to improve many of these outcomes among patients with illnesses such as cancer, no clinical trials to date have tested the impact of supportive care for patients with CF. The purpose of this pilot randomized clinical trial study is to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and perceived effectiveness of an embedded supportive care intervention, whereby a supportive care specialist will be integrated within the usual care experience of patients with advanced CF. The investigators will enroll 50 patients with advanced CF, who will be equally randomized to receive this embedded supportive care intervention or usual care. Secondary measures include: patient quality of life, mood, coping style, satisfaction with care, and symptom burden. This study will provide preliminary data to support the development of a larger, definitive, Phase III randomized clinical trial.