The TRIO program:
The TRIO program was created to better understand, support, and empower family carers of people diagnosed with
cancer. The research team behind the TRIO program recognise the valuable and unique contributions family carers
make to cancer care- and through their research hope to help foster effective partnerships between patients, carers,
and the clinical care team.
The TRIO program is in its 10th year. Over this time the team has conducted a number of research studies to better
understand the involvement of family carers, such as qualitative interviews, analyses of audiotaped consultations,
systematic reviews, a consensus study of international clinical experts, and the development of the world-first TRIO
guidelines for oncology clinicians communicating with family carers.
The TRIO team have recently developed two online education programs: eTRIO for oncology clinicians and eTRIO-pc for
patients and family carers, which aim to empower all stakeholders during cancer care. Both programs are currently
being evaluated in a multi-centre randomised controlled trial, recruiting oncology doctors and nurses, and patients and
family carers.
The development and testing of the eTRIO online programs have been funded by Cancer Australia and Cancer Council
NSW through the Priority Driven Collaborative Cancer Research Scheme.
The TRIO project team:
Associate Professor Ilona Juraskova
A/Prof Juraskova, MClinPsych PhD, is a research and teaching academic within
the School of Psychology, and the deputy director of CeMPED, at the University
of Sydney. She has over 20 years’ experience conducting research in
psycho-oncology and is recognised for her work on communication and
decision-making within the oncology setting, having developed and evaluated
15 decision-making resources and communication skills training modules for
cancer paents, family and clinicians.
ilona.juraskova@sydney.edu.au
Doctor Rebekah Laidsaar-Powell
Dr Rebekah Laidsaar-Powell, PhD, is a research fellow at the Centre for
Medical Psychology and Evidence-based Decision-making (CeMPED) at the
University of Sydney. Since 2010, she has co-led the TRIO program of
research, completing her PhD and postdoctoral research work focusing on
strategies to build effective partnerships with family carers. Rebekah also
co-leads and supervises survivorship research projects across multiple cancer
populations, including prostate, lung, colorectal, breast, and haematological
survivors.
rebekah.laidsaar-powell@sydney.edu.au
Professor Phyllis Butow
Prof Butow, MClinPsych MPH PhD AM, is an NHMRC Senior Principal Research
Fellow, Professor, School of Psychology, Co-Director of the CeMPED,
University of Sydney; Inaugral Chair of the Psycho-Oncology Co-operative
Research Group (PoCoG) Chair, Scientific Advisory Council of Sydney Catalyst,
and past President of the Clinical Oncology Society of Australia (COSA). She
has 35 years of experience in psycho-oncology research and practice and has
been internationally recognised for her contribution to the field.
phyllis.butow@sydney.edu.au