# Dyadic yoga Program for Patients with Lung Cancer Undergoing Radiotherapy and their Family Caregivers

> **NIH NIH R37** · UNIVERSITY OF TX MD ANDERSON CAN CTR · 2024 · $365,817

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Patients with lung cancer, on the most prevalent cancer diagnoses in the United States, tend to experience
debilitating physical and psychological sequelae. Common symptoms include reduced lung function, dyspnea,
fatigue, sleep disturbances, and depression compromising their physical function and quality of life (QOL).
Consequently, patients have a high need for care and support. Patients’ family members are their most important
and valued source of support and care; yet, caregiving is physically and emotionally taxing. In fact, family
caregivers report high rates of psychological distress, fatigue, and sleep disturbances, which may undermine the
quality of care they are able and willing to provide to the patient. Including caregivers in supportive care
interventions may not only reduce caregiver burden but may potentially improve patient outcomes beyond the
typical patient-oriented programs. Thus, there is a need to establish evidence-based dyadic interventions
targeting both patient and caregiver outcomes. To this end, we have systematically built a program of research
testing a patient-caregiver dyadic yoga program to address the needs of this vulnerable population. The parent
R37 project seeks to examine the efficacy of an instructor-led dyadic yoga program regarding improved objective
physical function and QOL outcomes in both patients and caregivers while patients are undergoing standard
thoracic radiotherapy. With the goal to facilitate the large-scale implementation of this promising intervention
with a flexible, cost-effective delivery strategy, we now propose to deliver the intervention on-demand via a
mobile application. Under the proposed R37 extension project, we seek to field test a mobile app prototype and
assess the feasibility, usability, and acceptability of the app-based yoga program in 20 patient-caregiver dyads.
We will examine social determinants of health variables as correlates of these study outcomes to ensure that
the app is acceptable to families from diverse backgrounds. We will use a mixed-methods approach to
understand the experience of participants with the intervention and its delivery using qualitative accounts.
Participant feedback will inform the need to refine and enhance the yoga app. The proposed innovative work will
provide rich pilot data that will inform a subsequent, larger trial seeking to test the effectiveness of the app-based
program in the community setting. Thus, this study represents a compelling next step of this program of research
to support this vulnerable patient-caregiver population. Together, the results of the parent project—a rigorous,
single-blind randomized controlled trial with a stringent comparison group—beautifully dovetail with the
knowledge gained from the proposed pilot trial to inform future implementation research and ultimately, the
clinical care of this high need population.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10818157
- **Project number:** 4R37CA231522-07
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TX MD ANDERSON CAN CTR
- **Principal Investigator:** Kathrin Milbury
- **Activity code:** R37 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $365,817
- **Award type:** 4N
- **Project period:** 2024-08-01 → 2026-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10818157

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10818157, Dyadic yoga Program for Patients with Lung Cancer Undergoing Radiotherapy and their Family Caregivers (4R37CA231522-07). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-12 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10818157. Licensed CC0.

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