Psycho-oncology
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Does cognitive behaviour therapy for insomnia reduce clinical levels of fatigue, anxiety and depression in cancer patients?
This secondary analysis of data from a randomised controlled trial explores associations between common symptom clusters and evaluates pre-treatment to post-treatment changes in clinical levels of these symptoms following cognitive behaviour therapy for insomnia (CBT-I). ⋯ These findings confirm the high rate of symptom co-morbidities among cancer patients and highlight strong associations between sleep and fatigue. CBT-I appears to offer generalised benefit to the symptom cluster as a whole and, specifically, is effective in reducing fatigue, which exceeded clinical cut-offs prior to implementation of the intervention. This has implications for the diagnosis/management of common symptoms in cancer patients.
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Research has demonstrated that treating cancer patients' psychological and physical health leads to improved overall health. This may be especially true for palliative care patients facing serious illness. This study examines the proportion and determinants of psychology service utilization in an outpatient palliative care population. ⋯ This study extends current knowledge about psychology utilization to palliative care outpatients receiving care within a collaborative care model. Directions for future research include further investigation of care models that optimize enabling strategies to enhance access to these services, and examination of patient-reported barriers to receiving this care.
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This study examined whether workplace support, sociodemographic factors and co-morbidity are associated with early retirement or non-employment due to other reasons among breast cancer survivors. We also compared quality of life and chronic symptoms (pain, fatigue, anxiety and depression) among employed, retired and other non-employed breast cancer survivors. ⋯ Differences in ill health and functional status between various groups of non-employed cancer survivors need to be considered when planning policy measures for improving the labour market participation of this population and preventing their early withdrawal from working life.