Psycho-oncology
-
The assessment of a caregiver's needs is a critical step for determining appropriate support services, providing high quality care, and achieving caregiver satisfaction. However, a systematic assessment of family caregiver's needs is rarely practiced. This study reports the development and validation of a comprehensive needs assessment tool for cancer caregivers (CNAT-C). ⋯ The CNAT-C appears to be a valid and reliable measure to assess comprehensive and multidimensional needs in caregivers of cancer patients.
-
An American Psychosocial Oncology Society workgroup has developed indicators of the quality of psychosocial care that can be measured through review of medical records. The present report describes the first large-scale use of these indicators to evaluate psychosocial care in outpatient medical oncology settings. ⋯ Findings illustrate how use of the psychosocial care indicators permits identification of specific practice sites and processes of care that should be targeted for quality improvement efforts. Additionally, findings demonstrate the extent to which routine assessment of emotional well-being lags behind routine assessment of pain in cancer patients.
-
Theoretical models of post-traumatic growth (PTG) have been derived in the general trauma literature to describe the post-trauma experience that facilitates the perception of positive life changes. To develop a statistical model identifying factors that are associated with PTG, structural equation modelling (SEM) was used in the current study to assess the relationships between perception of diagnosis severity, rumination, social support, distress, and PTG. ⋯ The model showed that in addition to having unique correlating factors, distress was not related to PTG, thereby providing support for the notion that these are discrete constructs in the post-diagnosis experience. The statistical model provides support that post-diagnosis experience is simultaneously shaped by positive and negative life changes and that one or the other outcome may be prevalent or may occur concurrently. As such, an implication for practice is the need for supportive care that is holistic in nature.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
Feasibility study of a randomized controlled trial of a telephone-delivered problem-solving-occupational therapy intervention to reduce participation restrictions in rural breast cancer survivors undergoing chemotherapy.
Breast cancer patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy often experience functional effects of treatment that limit participation in life activities. The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility of conducting a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of a novel intervention for these restrictions, determine acceptability of the intervention, and preliminarily assess its effects. ⋯ This pilot study suggests that an RCT of the PST-OT intervention is feasible to conduct with rural breast cancer patients undergoing adjuvant chemotherapy and that PST-OT may have positive effects on function, quality of life, and emotional state.
-
Compliance with colorectal cancer screening recommendations requires considerable conscious effort on the part of the individual patient, making an individual's decisions about engagement in screening an important contributor to compliance or noncompliance. The objective of this paper was to examine the effectiveness of individual-level behavior theories and their associated constructs in accounting for engagement in colorectal cancer screening behavior. ⋯ Suggestions are made for future research on individual-level determinants of colorectal cancer screening.