Psycho-oncology
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Written emotional disclosure for women with ovarian cancer and their partners: randomised controlled trial.
Written emotional disclosure for 15-20 min a day over 3 to 4 days improves physical and psychological health and may benefit cancer patients. However, no studies have tested the effectiveness of guided writing in cancer patients and their partners. A randomised controlled trial tested whether writing about the patient's diagnosis and treatment of ovarian cancer using the Guided Disclosure Protocol (GDP) is effective in reducing perceived stress and improving quality of life (QoL) in ovarian cancer couples. The study also tested two theories that may account for beneficial effects of written emotional disclosure, the cognitive processing hypothesis and the social interaction hypothesis. ⋯ The GDP might benefit patients in certain circumstances, through changes in communication (in line with the social interaction hypothesis). Further research is needed to determine whether patients benefit from interventions to improve illness-related couple communication and under which conditions.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Reducing the psychological distress of family caregivers of home-based palliative care patients: short-term effects from a randomised controlled trial.
Palliative care is expected to incorporate comprehensive support for family caregivers given that many caregivers suffer psychological morbidity. However, systematically implemented evidence-based psychological support initiatives are lacking. ⋯ This research adds to accumulating body of evidence demonstrating that relatively short psycho-educational interventions can enable family caregivers to feel more prepared and competent in the role of supporting a dying relative. Further investigation is required to determine the longer term outcomes of such interventions.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Existential behavioural therapy for informal caregivers of palliative patients: a randomised controlled trial.
Existential behavioural therapy (EBT) was developed to support informal caregivers of palliative patients in the last stage of life and during bereavement as a manualised group psychotherapy comprising six sessions. We tested the effectiveness of EBT on mental stress and quality of life (QOL). ⋯ Existential behavioural therapy appears to exert beneficial effects on distress and QOL of informal caregivers of palliative patients. Further longitudinal evidence is needed to confirm these findings.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Web-based self-monitoring for weight loss among overweight/obese women at increased risk for breast cancer: the HELP pilot study.
Excess weight and physical inactivity are modifiable risk factors for breast cancer. Training women to use self-help resources over the internet has potential for reducing intervention costs and enhancing maintenance. ⋯ A program to train women to use web-based weight loss tools achieved a substantial short-term weight loss among the majority of participants. Further follow-up is needed to assess weight loss maintenance over time.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
A pilot randomized controlled trial of a brief early intervention for reducing posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depressive symptoms in newly diagnosed head and neck cancer patients.
Head and neck cancer (HNC) patients have a high incidence of cancer-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other anxiety and depressive disorders. We report the results from the first pilot randomized controlled trial in which the efficacy of an early cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) program was compared with a non-directive supportive counseling (SC) intervention in reducing PTSD, general anxiety and depressive symptoms, and improving perceived quality of life in newly diagnosed, distressed HNC patients undergoing radiotherapy. ⋯ Findings indicate that the early provision of psychotherapy has utility in reducing PTSD, anxiety and depressive symptoms, and preventing chronic psychopathology in distressed HNC patients.