Understanding Expectancies in Cancer Symptom Management (R01 Clinical Trial Required)

This grant, titled "Understanding Expectancies in Cancer Symptom Management," requires a clinical trial. The opportunity is designed to support research into expectancy-generating elements and their measurable effects on cancer symptom management. Some of these factors include social, psychological, environmental, and systemic factors that contribute to beliefs about future outcomes from cancer and its treatment.

The grant is interested in how these factors can affect one's response to cancer, through what is known as expectancy effects. These effects represent the cognitive, behavioral, and biological results driven by patient, clinician, caregiver, and social network expectancies.

The ultimate goal of the research supported by this grant is to explore the underlying mechanisms of these expectancy effects in the context of cancer. This includes seeking to understand why these effects occur, identifying their role in managing cancer symptoms, and determining which patients, symptoms, cancer types, and scenarios can use these expectancy effects to improve cancer outcomes.

Furthermore, the program strongly encourages applications from researchers focusing on populations that are traditionally underrepresented or excluded from biomedical and behavioral research. This includes groups that may have unique insights or experiences to contribute to the study of expectancies in the context of cancer.