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Franco P, Di Tella M, Tesio V, Gasnier A, Petit S, Spalek M, Bibault JE, Dubois L, Mullaney L, Redalen KR, Chargari C, Perryck S, Bittner MI, Bertholet J, Castelli L. Alexithymia and professional quality of life in radiation oncology: The moderator effect of the professional profile. Radiother Oncol 2021; 158:48-54. [PMID: 33577864 DOI: 10.1016/j.radonc.2021.01.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2021] [Revised: 01/19/2021] [Accepted: 01/24/2021] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Cancer care can be taxing. Alexithymia, a personality construct characterized by difficulties in identifying and describing feeling and emotions, an externally-oriented thinking style and scarcity of imagination and fantasy, is significantly correlated with higher levels of both secondary traumatic stress (STS) and burnout and lower levels of compassion satisfaction in medical professionals in radiation oncology. In this study, we aimed to assess the difference in professional quality of life (QoL) and the association with alexithymia in this multidisciplinary field depending on the specific profession (radiation/clinical oncologist, RO; medical physicist, MP; radiation therapist, RTT). MATERIAL AND METHODS The study was conducted via an online questionnaire, receiving 1500 submissions between May and October 2018. Alexithymia was assessed via the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and professional QoL was evaluated using the Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQoL) version 5. Comparisons between the RO, RTT, and MP groups were performed by ANOVA or MANOVA, followed by Bonferroni corrected ANOVAs for continuous variables, and Pearson's chi-square test for categorical variables. The effect size was determined by calculating partial eta-squared (η2). RESULTS Profession had a moderator role on the correlation between alexithymia and STS, with RO being at a higher risk than MP and RTT. Further, the results of this study demonstrate the relevant point prevalence of decreased well-being at work even for professional categories such as MP despite the more technical profile and reduced interaction with patients. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates the importance of alexithymia as a factor contributing to decreased professional QoL amongst radiation oncology professionals. Alexithymic ROs are impacted to a higher extent compared to MPs and RTTs by the indirect exposure to patients suffering. It is worth addressing these observations in professional education, aiming to improve QoL for healthcare personnel.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierfrancesco Franco
- European Society for Radiotherapy&Oncology (ESTRO) Young Committee, Brussels, Belgium; Department of Oncology, Radiation Oncology, University of Turin, Italy.
| | - Marialaura Di Tella
- Department of Psychology, "ReMind the Body" Research Group, University of Turin, Italy
| | - Valentina Tesio
- Department of Psychology, "ReMind the Body" Research Group, University of Turin, Italy
| | - Anne Gasnier
- Radiotherapy Department, Gustave Roussy Cancer Campus, Villejuif, France
| | - Steven Petit
- European Society for Radiotherapy&Oncology (ESTRO) Young Committee, Brussels, Belgium; Department of Radiation Oncology - Erasmus Cancer Institute, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Mateusz Spalek
- European Society for Radiotherapy&Oncology (ESTRO) Young Committee, Brussels, Belgium; Department of Soft Tissue/Bone Sarcoma and Melanoma, Maria Sklodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology Center, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Jean-Emmanuel Bibault
- European Society for Radiotherapy&Oncology (ESTRO) Young Committee, Brussels, Belgium; Department of Radiation Oncology, Stanford University School of Medicine, United States
| | - Ludwig Dubois
- European Society for Radiotherapy&Oncology (ESTRO) Young Committee, Brussels, Belgium; The M-Lab, Department of Precision Medicine, GROW - School for Oncology and Developmental Biology, Maastricht University, The Netherlands
| | - Laura Mullaney
- European Society for Radiotherapy&Oncology (ESTRO) Young Committee, Brussels, Belgium; Applied Radiation Therapy Trinity Research Group, Discipline of Radiation Therapy, School of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
| | - Kathrine Røe Redalen
- European Society for Radiotherapy&Oncology (ESTRO) Young Committee, Brussels, Belgium; Department of Physics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Cyrus Chargari
- European Society for Radiotherapy&Oncology (ESTRO) Young Committee, Brussels, Belgium; Radiotherapy Department, Gustave Roussy Cancer Campus, Villejuif, France
| | - Sophie Perryck
- European Society for Radiotherapy&Oncology (ESTRO) Young Committee, Brussels, Belgium; Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Zurich and University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Martin-Immanuel Bittner
- European Society for Radiotherapy&Oncology (ESTRO) Young Committee, Brussels, Belgium; Arctoris, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Jenny Bertholet
- European Society for Radiotherapy&Oncology (ESTRO) Young Committee, Brussels, Belgium; Division of Medical Radiation Physics, Department of Radiation Oncology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Switzerland
| | - Lorys Castelli
- Department of Psychology, "ReMind the Body" Research Group, University of Turin, Italy
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Franco P, Tesio V, Bertholet J, Gasnier A, Gonzalez del Portillo E, Spalek M, Bibault JE, Borst G, Van Elmpt W, Thorwarth D, Mullaney L, Røe Redalen K, Dubois L, Chargari C, Perryck S, Heukelom J, Petit S, Lybeer M, Castelli L. The role of alexithymia and empathy on radiation therapists' professional quality of life. Tech Innov Patient Support Radiat Oncol 2020; 15:29-36. [PMID: 32904144 PMCID: PMC7451808 DOI: 10.1016/j.tipsro.2020.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2020] [Revised: 07/15/2020] [Accepted: 07/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Physical and mental well-being are crucial for oncology professionals as they affect performance at work. Personality traits, as alexithymia and empathy, may influence professional quality of life. Alexithymia involves diminished skills in emotion processing and awareness. Empathy is pertinent to the ability to understand another's 'state of mind/emotion'. The PROject on Burn-Out in RadiatioN Oncology (PRO BONO) investigates professional quality of life amongst radiation oncology professionals, exploring the role of alexithymia and empathy. The present study reports on data pertinent to radiation therapists (RTTs). MATERIAL AND METHODS An online survey targeted ESTRO members. Participants were asked to fill out 3 questionnaires for alexithymia, empathy and professional quality of life: (a) Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20); (b) Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI); (c) Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQoL). The present analysis focuses on RTTS to evaluate compassion satisfaction (CS), secondary traumatic stress (STS) and Burnout and their correlation with alexithymia and empathy, using generalized linear modeling. Covariates found significant at univariate linear regression analysis were included in the multivariate linear regression model. RESULTS A total of 399 RTTs completed all questionnaires. The final model for the burnout scale of ProQoL found, as significal predictors, the TAS-20 total score (β = 0.46, p < 0 0.001), and the individual's perception of being valued by supervisor (β = -0.29, p < 0.001). With respect to CS, the final model included TAS-20 total score (β = -0.33, p < 0.001), the Empatic Concern domain (β = 0.23, p < 0.001) of the IRI questionnaire and the individual's perception of being valued by colleagues (β = 0.22, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Alexithymia increased the likelyhood to experience burnout and negatively affected the professional quality of life amongst RTTs working in oncology. Empathy resulted in higher professional fulfillment together with collegaues' appreciation. These results may be used to benchmark preventing strategies and implement organization-direct and/or individual-directed interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierfrancesco Franco
- European Society for Radiotherapy&Oncology (ESTRO) Young Committee, Brussels, Belgium
- Department of Oncology, Radiation Oncology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Valentina Tesio
- Department of Psychology, “ReMind the Body” Research Group, University of Turin, Italy
| | - Jenny Bertholet
- European Society for Radiotherapy&Oncology (ESTRO) Young Committee, Brussels, Belgium
- Division of Medical Radiation Physics, Department of Radiation Oncology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Switzerland
| | - Anne Gasnier
- Radiotherapy Department, Gustave Roussy Cancer Campus, Villejuif, France
| | | | - Mateusz Spalek
- European Society for Radiotherapy&Oncology (ESTRO) Young Committee, Brussels, Belgium
- Department of Soft Tissue/Bone Sarcoma and Melanoma, Maria Sklodowska-Curie Institute - Oncology Center, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Jean-Emmanuel Bibault
- European Society for Radiotherapy&Oncology (ESTRO) Young Committee, Brussels, Belgium
- Jean-Emmanuel Bibault, Department of Radiation Oncology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305-5847, USA
| | - Gerben Borst
- Department of Oncology, Radiation Oncology Department, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Wouter Van Elmpt
- The M-Lab, Department of Precision Medicine, GROW – School for Oncology and Developmental Biology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Daniela Thorwarth
- Section for Biomedical Physics, University Hospital for Radiation Oncology Tubingen, Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Laura Mullaney
- European Society for Radiotherapy&Oncology (ESTRO) Young Committee, Brussels, Belgium
- Applied Radiation Therapy Trinity Research Group, Discipline of Radiation Therapy, School of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Kathrine Røe Redalen
- European Society for Radiotherapy&Oncology (ESTRO) Young Committee, Brussels, Belgium
- Department of Physics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Ludwig Dubois
- European Society for Radiotherapy&Oncology (ESTRO) Young Committee, Brussels, Belgium
- The M-Lab, Department of Precision Medicine, GROW – School for Oncology and Developmental Biology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Cyrus Chargari
- European Society for Radiotherapy&Oncology (ESTRO) Young Committee, Brussels, Belgium
- Radiotherapy Department, Gustave Roussy Cancer Campus, Villejuif, France
| | - Sophie Perryck
- European Society for Radiotherapy&Oncology (ESTRO) Young Committee, Brussels, Belgium
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Zurich and University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Jolien Heukelom
- European Society for Radiotherapy&Oncology (ESTRO) Young Committee, Brussels, Belgium
- Department of Oncology, Radiation Oncology Department, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Steven Petit
- European Society for Radiotherapy&Oncology (ESTRO) Young Committee, Brussels, Belgium
- Department of Radiation Oncology – Erasmus Cancer Institute, Rotterdam the Netherlands
| | | | - Lorys Castelli
- Department of Psychology, “ReMind the Body” Research Group, University of Turin, Italy
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