Journal of Psychosocial Oncology最新文献

Background: Skin cancer is the most common cancer worldwide and comprises various non-melanoma skin cancer (NMCS) diagnoses and malignant melanoma (MM). It places a psychological burden on patients and their spouses. The present study aims to investigate psychological distress, temporal changes of psychosocial resources (PR), as well as dyadic dynamics of psychological distress and PR in patients with NMSC or MM and their spouses.

Methods: Fifty-four heterosexual couples with different skin cancers, diagnosed within the previous 12 months, participated in this quantitative cross-sectional study. Patients and spouses provided information about depression and anxiety (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), PR within the last four weeks and last three years (Essen Resource Inventory), and partnership quality (Partnership Questionnaire, short version). Dyadic dynamics were analyzed with multiple regression analyses.

Results: We found similar distress levels in patients and spouses, as well as in patients with different skin cancers. Spouses from patients with MM reported significant higher distress levels than spouses from patient with NMSC. Patients' depression predicted spouses' depression, and spouses' anxiety predicted patients' anxiety. In patients, we found associations between personal resources (within the last four weeks and three years) and depression, and an association between patients' social resources (within the last three years) and spouses' depression.

Conclusions: The psychological interdependencies between patients' and spouses' depression and anxiety highlight the importance of considering psychological distress in patients with different skin cancers from a dyadic perspective in clinical contexts. Further, personal resources were indicated as a "distress buffer" for patients' mental health. Our results underline the importance of couple interventions that activate PR in patients with cancer and their spouses.

Background: To advance oncology treatment for adults, comprehensive understanding of how and why people decide to enroll in, remain in, and withdraw from cancer clinical trials is needed. While quantitative findings provide insights into these benefits and burdens, they provide limited understanding of how adults with cancer appraise their situation and approach decisions to undertake a clinical trial. The goal of this mixed methods analysis was to conceptualize participants' assessment of benefits and burdens related to cancer clinical trial participation.

Materials and methods: This sub-group analysis of 21 participants was part of a larger sequential, explanatory mixed methods study. We used Creamer's integrated approach to linking quantitative and qualitative data to assess convergence, with qualitative data explaining quantitative results. Participants were grouped into four categories based on quantitative benefit/burden scores and thematic analysis of their qualitative data was used to describe these categories.

Results: Across groups participants varied in descriptions of benefits and burdens of cancer clinical trial participation and reasons for participating. Those reporting high benefit/low burden described "seizing the opportunity to participate;" those reporting low benefit/low burden described "taking responsibility" through trial participation; those reporting low benefit/high burden described how they were "willing to endure," and those with high benefit/high burden emphasized "deciding to act."

Conclusions: Participants' qualitative descriptions of benefits and burdens were more nuanced and dynamic than reflected in their quantitative ratings. Thus, current measures may be missing important concepts, such as logistic challenges of trial participation. Our results have implications for consenting procedures and decisional support guidance offered to patients and their caregivers.

Purspose: Self-perceived body image may impact women's well-being and levels of depressive symptomatology after cancer-related treatment. The Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) is a 10-item, unidimensional tool used to assess body appreciation, a facet of body image. A culturally relevant version of the BAS-2 was needed for the Spanish spoken in Puerto Rico. A cross-cultural adaptation of the BAS-2 for Spanish spoken in Puerto Rico was conducted and tested its psychometric properties, using a methodological design. It was hypothesized that the BAS-2 adapted for Puerto Rican Spanish would have an internal consistency with a Cronbach α value greater than 0.70 and a unidimensional structure; and that body appreciation would be positively and significantly correlated to mental health and would be negatively and significantly correlated to depression and body mass index.

Methods: One hundred-nine participants were recruited with a diagnosis of breast cancer (stages 0 to III) who completed adjuvant curative therapy at least two months to five years prior to recruitment.

Results: Participants had an average age of 61.5 years (SD = 7.1), and 64.2% had a bachelor's degree or higher educational level. The internal consistency of the BAS-2 adapted for the Puerto Rican Spanish was Cronbach α = 0.92. Exploratory factor analysis indicated one-dimensionality of the test. Body appreciation was negatively correlated with higher levels of depressive symptomatology and with a higher body mass index, and positively correlated with higher levels of mental health.

Conclusion: The BAS-2 adapted for the Spanish of Puerto Rico is a psychometrically sound instrument to assess body image.

Introduction: Childhood cancer caregivers report psychological distress and unmet psychosocial needs, affecting outcomes for their children. An experimental study was carried out to measure the effectiveness of an intervention in addressing traumatic stress, depression and anxiety.

Methods: Caregivers (n = 59) of children with ALL were allocated to both groups (intervention, n = 29; TAU control, n = 30) via the SNOSE method. The intervention is a physical copy of a 2-week psychosocial self-help guidebook. Scores on the PCL-5, BDI and BAI were recorded at baseline, post-intervention and 1-month follow-up.

Results: There was a statistically significant difference in traumatic stress symptoms post intervention (F(1, 57) = 5.760, p = .020, n_p² = 0.093) in favor of the intervention group. No statistical significance was found for its effect at one-month follow-up, overall depression and anxiety.

Conclusion: A psychosocial module developed for caregivers of children with ALL was found to be effective in reducing symptoms of traumatic stress and potentially depression. However, the maintenance of its effectiveness and the effectiveness on anxiety requires further study.

Objective: Long-term psychological impacts are well--documented among childhood cancer survivors. To our knowledge, however, no research has been conducted to investigate obsessive--compulsive and related disorders (OCRD) among childhood -cancer survivors (CCS).

Methods: Using a large electronic medical record database, relative risk were calculated to examine associations between demographic characteristics and childhood cancer type and OCRDs among childhood cancer survivors.

Results: Among 121 survivors of childhood cancer diagnosed with OCRD, 57% were female. The most common childhood cancer diagnoses were leukemia/lymphoma (41%) and central nervous system (CNS) malignancies (38%), and OCRD diagnoses most frequently observed were obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD; 76%) and excoriation disorder (13%). Female sex (RR= 1.39, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.17-1.61), White race (RR= 1.28, 95% CI 1.15-1.36) and history of CNS malignancies (RR= 1.36, 95% CI 1.18, 1.92) were associated with OCD.

Conclusions: Numerous factors, including sex, race, and cancer type, were seen as contributors to risk variance for OCRDs, particularly OCD, among CCS, compared to CCS with no OCRD diagnosis. This provides an enhanced understanding of risk factors for OCRD development and may help improve early identification and care for at-risk survivors.

Objective: Insomnia and repetitive negative thinking (RNT) are both prevalent among cancer survivors, yet little work has investigated their interrelationship. To explore the hypothesis that RNT and insomnia are related, we conducted secondary analyses on data from a pilot clinical trial of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) for cancer survivors.

Methods: This study analyzed survey data from 40 cancer survivors with insomnia who participated in a pilot randomized trial of CBT-I. Correlations and linear regression models were used to determine associations between aspects of RNT and related constructs (fear of cancer recurrence [FCR], cancer-specific rumination, worry, and intolerance of uncertainty) and sleep (insomnia and sleep quality), while accounting for psychiatric symptoms such as anxiety and depression. Treatment-related change in RNT was examined using a series of linear mixed models.

Results: Evidence for an association between RNT and insomnia among cancer survivors emerged. Higher levels of FCR and cancer-related rumination were correlated with more severe insomnia symptoms and worse sleep quality. Notably, FCR levels predicted insomnia, even after controlling for anxiety and depression. Results identified potential benefits and limitations of CBT-I in addressing RNT that should be examined more thoroughly in future research.

Conclusions: RNT is a potential target to consider in insomnia treatment for cancer survivors.

Purpose: Children with cancer experience low quality of life (QOL), yet heterogeneity underscores a need to understand how risk and resilience factors interact. This study evaluated if family functioning relates to QOL differentially depending on diagnosis and treatment intensity.

Methods: Participants included children (ages 8-14) who completed treatment within six months for either brain tumor (BT; n = 42) or non-central nervous system solid tumor (ST; n = 29). Caregivers and children rated QOL and family functioning. Treatment intensity was categorized as low, moderate, or high. Cross-informant moderation models tested hypothesized interactions.

Results: Child-reported family functioning significantly interacted with diagnosis and treatment intensity in models of caregiver-reported QOL. More maladaptive family functioning was associated with reduced QOL for children with BT and moderately-intense treatments.

Conclusions: Children with BT and moderate treatment intensities are sensitive to family functioning, highlighting an at-risk group to target for family-level intervention. Future work should evaluate these associations longitudinally.

Objectives: Recognizing the limitations of the current pain therapies, the study aimed to explore the unique needs and obstacles related to pain management in Breast Cancer Survivors (BCs) with Chronic Pain (CP).

Methods: 4 focus groups were conducted involving 17 BCs with CP (Mage = 51, SD = 7.99) with varying pain intensities. Thematic analysis was applied to transcribed discussions.

Findings: Three key themes emerged: (1) Challenges to pain management, including "Doctor-patients communications barriers" and "Contextual and societal barriers"; (2) Self-management needs, encompassing "Psycho-social support," "Care-related needs," and "Shared decision-making"; (3) Treatment preferences and perceptions of pain management, with subthemes like "Treatment preferences," "Institution preference," and "Decision role perception."

Conclusions: This study emphasizes tailored support systems targeting patient hesitancy, countering pain normalization, and addressing healthcare providers' attitudes. It underscores the importance of integrating caregiver and peer support. Findings advocate refining healthcare provider education, adopting a comprehensive multidisciplinary approach, and strategically incorporating eHealth tools into such care.

Background: Patterns in sedentary time (SED) and its impact on quality of life (QoL) in cancer survivors during the COVID-19 pandemic remains unknown. The purpose of this study was to 1) compare total and domain-specific SED before and during the pandemic; and 2) examine its association with QoL in a global sample of cancer survivors.

Methods: In an online survey, cancer survivors retrospectively self-reported domain-specific SED (e.g. transportation, television) before and during the pandemic via the Domain-Specific Sitting Time Questionnaire. QoL was assessed via the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT)-General and FACT-Fatigue. Paired t-tests compared daily SED before and during the pandemic. Analysis of covariance compared QoL among: those who remained high (>8 h/day), remained low (<8 h/day), increased (<8 h/day to >8 h/day), or decreased (>8 h/day to <8 h/day) daily SED.

Results: Among cancer survivors (N = 477, M_age=48.5 ± 15.4), 60.8% reported that their SED remained high, 19.7% remained low, 7.5% increased SED, and 11.9% decreased SED. Computer and television screen time significantly increased (p's<.001), while SED during transportation significantly decreased (p<.001). Sub-group analyses revealed that those who reduced SED who were normal or underweight (p=.042) or were meeting physical activity guidelines (p=.031) had significantly less fatigue than those who increased or remained high in SED, respectively. Those who remained high in SED with <3 comorbidities (p's =.005) had significantly better social well-being than those who increased SED.

Conclusions: As we transition to a post-pandemic era, behavioral strategies for cancer survivors should focus on reducing screen time to improve QoL and fatigue.