Recruitment

To overcome the challenge of recruiting cancer caregivers, recruitment takes place in a multiplicity of online and offline fields in the complete German-speaking area (includes Germany, Austria and Switzerland). Participants are recruited in relevant social media groups (eg, groups for caregivers of patients with cancer), in online communities, via flyers and circular emails in university medical centres, links on clinic homepages, online and offline support groups, cancer counselling centres and comprehensive cancer centres. All recruitment routes lead to the PartnerCARE study homepage (www.esano.klips-ulm.de/de/trainings/krebserkrankung/partnercare/), where potential participants get information and can register for the study via contact form or sending an email to the study team. Recruitment started in April 2019 and is still ongoing until the target sample size will be reached. Due to further project plans and financial reasons, recruitment will be closed after 18 months, even if the target sample size could not be reached.