Coping flexibility and associated factors after gastrectomy in patients with gastric cancer: A cross-sectional multisite study

Objective

To elucidate the current state of coping flexibility and associated factors in gastric cancer patients after gastrectomy.

Methods

A cross-sectional multisite study was conducted with 142 patients with gastric cancer who completed questionnaires on coping flexibility, postgastrectomy dysfunction, health literacy, and perceived social support. Coping flexibility was measured using the Coping Flexibility Scale-Revised, which includes three subscales: Abandonment Coping (i.e., abandoning ineffective coping strategies), Re-Coping (i.e., assessing the process of developing and implementing alternative coping strategies), and Meta-Coping (i.e., monitoring coping flexibility process). Higher scores indicate greater coping flexibility. Descriptive statistics and univariable and multivariable logistic analyses were conducted to examine factors associated with coping flexibility.

Results

The mean age of the participants was 72.6 (± 10.5) years. Limited activity due to decreased food consumption was associated with lower scores for Abandonment Coping (odds ratio [OR]: 0.4; P ​= ​0.03; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.2-0.9) and Re-Coping (OR: 0.3; P ​= ​0.003; 95% CI, 0.1-0.6). Higher levels of communicative health literacy were associated with higher Abandonment Coping scores (OR: 1.1; P ​= ​0.04; 95% CI, 1.0-1.3), and higher levels of critical health literacy were associated with higher Re-Coping scores (OR: 1.2; P ​= ​0.03; 95% CI, 1.0-1.3).

Conclusions

Limited activity due to decreased food consumption and limited coping flexibility were significantly associated. Health literacy had an important role in facilitating coping flexibility. Nursing support may be crucial in evaluating coping strategies and developing alternatives based on new information.

Trajectories of cancer-specific stress in cancer patients: a latent growth mixture analysis

This study aimed to examine trajectories of cancer specific stress (CSS) over the course of a year, starting at the beginning of chemotherapy, and identify psychosocial factors that predicted trajectory class membership. Growth Mixture Modeling was used to identify distinct trajectories of CSS. Multinomial regression examined potential psychosocial predictors of trajectory membership. In the 4-class solution, all four trajectories demonstrated a decrease in CSS over the year but with differing intercepts and magnitudes of slopes. These were characterized as recovery, resilience, chronic, and severely chronic. The recovery group reported significantly higher insomnia scores than the resilient group. The chronic group reported significantly higher insomnia, higher depression, lower social support, and lower optimism than the resilient group. The chronic group reported significantly lower social support and higher depression than the recovery group. The findings provide information about psychosocial risk factors for CSS that can be screened for early intervention following diagnosis.

Theory of brain complexity and marital behaviors: The application of complexity science and neuroscience to explain the complexities of marital behaviors

The extant theories on the quality and stability of marital relationships have some difficulties in explaining some of the complexities of marital behaviors. The present article is an initial attempt to explain the complexities of marital behaviors based on the science of complexity and neuroscience. This article proposes a new theoretical framework relying on this simple argument that marital behaviors, as one of the most complex human behaviors, are the product of one's brain's complex adaptive system (CAS). Hence, to understand the complexities of marital behaviors, a movement toward familiarity with the brain's CAS involved in marital behaviors needs to be started. The article presents the theory of brain complexity and marital behaviors (BCM) and outlines its assumptions, concepts, and propositions. Then, BCM is compared with the extant theories on happy and stable marriage, and finally, it was concluded by discussing the testability and the potential application of the theory. This article might inspire interdisciplinary studies of marital relationships, complex systems, and neuroscience and may have considerable practical implications.

mHealth interventions to reduce stress in healthcare workers (fitcor): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Causes and consequences of chronic stress levels in the context of healthcare work are well examined. Nevertheless, the implementation and evaluation of high-quality interventions to reduce stress of healthcare workers is still missing. Internet and app-based interventions are a promising venue for providing interventions for stress reduction to a population that is otherwise difficult to reach due to shift work and time constraints in general. To do so, we developed the internet and app-based intervention (fitcor), a digital coaching of individual stress coping for health care workers.

METHODS

We applied the SPIRIT (Standard Protocol Items: Recommendations for Interventional Trials) statement as a guideline for the present protocol. A randomized controlled trial will be conducted. There are five different intervention groups and one waiting control group. To achieve the sample sizes required by power analysis (G*Power) (β-error 80%; effect size 0.25), the sample sizes of the respective scenarios will be at best as follows: 336 care workers from hospitals, 192 administrative health personnel, 145 care workers from stationary elderly care homes, and 145 care workers from ambulatory care providers in Germany. Participants will randomly be assigned to one of five different intervention groups. A crossover design with a waiting control group is planned. Interventions will be accompanied by three measurement points, first a baseline measure, second a post-intervention measure directly after completion of the intervention, and a follow-up measure 6 weeks after completion of the intervention. At all three measurement points, perceived team conflict, work-related experience patterns, personality, satisfaction with internet-based training, and back pain will be assessed using questionnaires, as well as heart rate variability, sleep quality, and daily movement will be recorded using an advanced sensor.

DISCUSSION

Workers in the health care sector increasingly face high job demands and stress levels. Traditional health interventions fail to reach the respective population due to organizational constraints. Implementation of digital health interventions has been found to improve stress coping behavior; however, the evidence in health care settings has not been established. To the best of our knowledge, fitcor is the first internet and app-based intervention to reduce stress among nursing and administrative health care personnel.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

The trial was registered at DRKS.de on 12 July 2021, registration number: DRKS00024605.

Hope and PTSD

This paper reviews the present literature examining how hope relates to PTSD and broader functioning after a trauma, including potential underlying mechanisms and significant factors impacting these relationships and the role of hope as a mechanism of change within interventions for PTSD. First, the ways in which trauma impacts hope are discussed. Afterwards, an overview is provided of cross-sectional and prospective research indicating that greater hope reduces the risk of PTSD and promotes positive outcomes of adversity. Next, potential underlying mechanisms and determinants of the relationship between hope and adjustment are explored, including adaptive appraisals, productive coping, and social support. Finally, evidence supporting the role of hope as a mechanism of change in treatments for PTSD is reviewed.

The moderating role of coping flexibility in reports of somatic symptoms among early breast cancer patients

OBJECTIVE

The current study assessed breast cancer patients' somatic symptoms during the first six months post diagnosis and examined the moderating role of coping flexibility (i.e., trauma-focused and forward-focused coping strategies) on the association between reported somatic symptoms three months after breast cancer diagnosis and somatic symptoms six months after diagnosis.

METHOD AND MEASURES

An international sample of 702 women diagnosed with breast cancer from four countries (Finland, Israel, Italy, Portugal) completed self-reported questionnaires at three time points: at the time of diagnosis (M0), three months post diagnosis (M3), and six months post diagnosis (M6). The questionnaires included the coping flexibility scale and questions about demographics, medical data, and somatic symptoms.

RESULTS

The highest level of somatic symptoms was reported after three months post diagnosis (M3), as compared to M0 and M6. Both trauma-focused and forward-focused coping strategies moderated the relationship between somatic symptoms at M3 and somatic symptoms at M6.

CONCLUSION

The findings highlight the importance of assessing somatic symptoms soon after breast cancer diagnosis and throughout the early phase of treatment. Coping flexibility can buffer the stability of the somatic symptoms during this initial phase.

Coronavirus anxiety, fear of COVID-19, hope and resilience in healthcare workers: a moderated mediation model study

BACKGROUND

In the era of the global health crisis, mental health and well-being of people have been severely affected because of experiencing high levels of anxiety, stress, fear, and uncertainty related to COVID-19. This study investigated a moderated mediation model in which resilience mediated the link between coronavirus anxiety and fear of COVID-19, and this mediation effect was moderated by hope.

PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURE

A cross-sectional study was conducted on 168 healthcare workers (Mage = 29.19 ± 6.13 years and 63.1% women) working at a state hospital in the eastern part of Turkey. They completed measures of coronavirus anxiety, fear of COVID-19, resilience, and hope during COVID-19 pandemic.

RESULTS

The results indicated that resilience mediated the relationship between coronavirus anxiety and fear of COVID-19. Hope moderated the mediating path from coronavirus anxiety to resilience. Coronavirus anxiety had a stronger effect on resilience under the moderate and high levels of hope condition, compared to the low level of hope condition.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings suggest that resilience is an important mechanism explaining how coronavirus anxiety is associated with fear of COVID-19 and that this relation may depend on the levels of hope. Future prevention and intervention programs should focus on increasing hope and resilience when addressing mental health problems in the face of adversity.

Analysis of workplace health and safety, job stress, interpersonal conflict, and turnover intention: a comparative study in the health sector

BACKGROUND

This study aims to examine the relationship between workplace health, job stress, turnover intention and interpersonal conflict in the health sector. It also seeks to unravel how the public and private working environment, and demographic variables affect those four variables.

PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURE

A cross-sectional survey design was used for this study. The respondents were selected based on simple random sampling. Out of 1000 questionnaires administered, 708 were returned (432 from public hospitals and 276 from private hospitals) and used. Correlation, multiple regression, and ANOVA analysis were used to determine the relationship and impact between the variables.

RESULTS

The findings revealed negative and significant relationships between workplace health and safety and stress, turnover intention and interpersonal conflict. Additionally, some results reflected the significant positive relationship between stress, turnover intention and interpersonal conflict. Finally, turnover intention, job stress, education level and number of duties accounted for 30% of the variation in workplace health and safety.

CONCLUSIONS

Managers within the healthcare sector of Turkey should acknowledge that workers who do not feel healthy and safe in work environments develop high stress, turnover intention, and conflict with other colleagues.