MedSupport: helping families manage children's chemotherapy medications
MedSupport: A Novel Multilevel Intervention to Identify and Address Barriers to Pediatric Medication
MedSupport is a support program to help families of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia follow home chemotherapy schedules and reduce missed doses.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Roswell Park Cancer Institute Corp NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Buffalo, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11309614 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If your child has ALL and receives chemotherapy at home, you would be asked to join a program that combines practical help, education, and tools to tackle common medication barriers. Families are randomly assigned to receive the MedSupport program or usual education, and the team will follow medication use over time at eight pediatric cancer centers. Medication use will be tracked with electronic pill-bottle caps and by measuring drug metabolites to see how well doses are taken. The study also looks at why the program works by testing theory-based mechanisms that link the support to better adherence.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Families of children (infants through about 11 years old) with acute lymphoblastic leukemia who are receiving portions of their chemotherapy at home are the ideal candidates.
Not a fit: Children who are not receiving home-based chemotherapy, who have other types of cancer, or whose caregivers cannot participate in follow-up visits are unlikely to benefit directly from this program.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this program could help families keep children on their chemotherapy schedule more reliably and lower the chance of relapse or hospitalization.
How similar studies have performed: Medication-adherence supports and electronic monitoring have shown promise in other pediatric conditions, but combining multilevel behavioral support with drug-metabolite biomarkers in pediatric ALL is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
Buffalo, United States
- Roswell Park Cancer Institute Corp — Buffalo, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Bouchard, Elizabeth — Roswell Park Cancer Institute Corp
- Study coordinator: Bouchard, Elizabeth
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.