Family Camp: A multi-disciplinary intervention for brain tumor patients and families.

240 Background: The diagnosis of a brain tumor is a catastrophic life changing event that impacts the entire family. Patients and caregivers experience dramatic role changes, concern for their children, financial stress, and isolation. For many, the situation is overwhelming. A novel intervention to address these needs is "Family Camp". Our vision for camp was to provide respite to the entire family, decrease caregiver stress, improve family connections and promote a sense of understanding and connection with the community at large.

METHODS: In a unique partnership with the widow of a former patient, the members of the UCSF Neuro-Oncology Division created and offered a weekend camp for brain tumor patients with children. Team members included MDs, RNs, social workers, psychologists, artists, body workers, "camp counselors" and community volunteers. In addition to respite, camp was structured through art, songs, projects and games to deliver opportunities for understanding and community building, including understanding the disease and its impact on the family. Therapeutic interventions included couples activities, counseling, parenting strategies, and providing a sense of connection to others dealing with brain tumors, the health care team, and camp volunteers. Anxiety, stress, depression, coping and values based living were measured pre and post camp using DASS21, CES-D, Brief Cope, Values Based Living instruments, and survey questions.

RESULTS: 11 families attended camp for 3 days in 2014. Improvement was noted in post camp testing of depression, anxiety and stress versus pre-camp. Survey questions showed the most common and important outcome to be connection, specifically that patients, caregivers, and children made connections with similar others. Families reported being able to relax and felt taken care of. They liked the opportunity for undistracted family time, getting to know their health providers outside of the office, and couples benefited from family counseling.

CONCLUSIONS: Capitalizing on the unique skills of a multi-disciplinary team, one that includes the patient's health care team, can lead to the delivery of a novel intervention that improves the illness experience of brain tumor patients and families.