Lead Investigators: Maija Reblin, Margaret M Byrne
Informal family caregivers have an important role in cancer care. However, the responsibilities associated with providing care can be stressful. The ability to access social support resources, both from family or friends and from formal services, is key to caregivers’ ability to cope, maintain well-being, and provide quality care at home.
Our research team is testing a social support intervention for caregivers of patients with primary malignant brain tumor. The intervention includes both a web-based tool to organize and visualize social support resources, as well as manualized caregiver navigator sessions, focused on leveraging existing support services. Through this intervention, we hope to help caregivers more effectively access the support that they need, to improve both their own physical and mental well-being, and that of those they care for.
MPIs:
Maija Reblin, PhD
Dr. Maija Reblin is an Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine in the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont and the Cancer Population Sciences co-Program Leader at the University of Vermont Cancer Center.
Trained as a social and health psychologist, her research focuses on understanding the social context of family caregivers of those with serious illness and using this knowledge to develop strengths-based interventions.
Publications can be found here.
Collaborators:
Peter Forsyth, MD
Dana Ketcher, PhD
Amy Otto, PhD
Kristen Wells, PhD
Brad Zebrack PhD, MSW, MPH
Research Coordinators, Navigators, & Statisticians:
Veronica Barrios-Monroy
Heraldo D’Almeida
Sophia Diaz-Carroway
Ryan Hagen, MSMS
Rachael McCormick
Laura Rodriguez
Omarianna Rountree
Steve Sutton, PhD
Kerie Walters, MSW
Deanna Witte, MSMS
Publications:
Recreational Travel of Patients with Brain Tumor and Their Caregivers: Context, Preparation, and Impact. J Palliat Med. 2025 Mar;28(3):371-376. doi: 10.1089/jpm.2024.0415. Epub 2024 Dec 4. PubMed PMID: 39630568; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC12417049. [PubMed] [pdf]
Reblin M, Wells KJ, Otto A, McCormick R, Rodriguez L, Walters K, Sutton SK, Zebrack B, Forsyth P, Byrne MM. Addressing a critical need for caregiver support in neuro-oncology: development of a caregiver navigation intervention using eSNAP social resource visualization. Support Care Cancer. 2022 Jun;30(6):5361-5370. doi: 10.1007/s00520-022-06977-9. Epub 2022 Mar 15. PMID: 35290512; PMCID: PMC8922391. [PubMed] [pdf]
Reblin M, Ketcher D, McCormick R, Barrios-Monroy V, Sutton SK, Zebrack B, Wells KJ, Sahebjam S, Forsyth P, Byrne MM. A randomized wait-list controlled trial of a social support intervention for caregivers of patients with primary malignant brain tumor. BMC Health Serv Res. 2021 Apr 17;21(1):360. doi: 10.1186/s12913-021-06372-w. PMID: 33865382; PMCID: PMC8052543. [PubMed] [pdf]
Reblin M, D'Almeida H, Barrios-Monroy V, McCormick R, Rodriguez L, Walters K, Sutton SK, Zebrack B, Forsyth P, Byrne MM, Wells KJ. Training cancer caregiver navigators: experiences from implementing the eSNAP and caregiver navigator intervention. Support Care Cancer. 2022 Dec;30(12):10263-10272. doi: 10.1007/s00520-022-07394-8. Epub 2022 Oct 8. PMID: 36207640; PMCID: PMC9546415. [PubMed] [pdf]