Positive psychology interventions for family caregivers coping with cancer: Who will use them?

Background

Positive psychology-based (PPB) activities have been under-researched in cancer caregiving.

Objective

This study investigated caregiver: (1) attitudes toward using PPB activities while caregiving; and (2) characteristics associated with these attitudes.

Methods

Secondary analyses of a cross-sectional survey were conducted in a national caregiver sample of hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) patients. Survey items assessed caregivers' likelihood of engaging in six PPB activities. Hierarchical regression was performed and potential predictors of PPB activity use (e.g., technology familiarity, coping style, caregiving duration) were examined.

Results

Most of the N = 948 respondents were White (78.9%), female (65.5%), married (86.7%), employed (78.4%), and college-educated (79.8%). Caregivers favorably disposed to positive activities were younger and female, provided care for 6-12 months and >40 h/week, and used coping styles involving religion and social support.

Conclusions

Our findings provide guidance for development and testing of PPB activities for cancer caregivers.

Alterations in Memory and Impact on Academic Outcomes in Children Following Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation

The prevalence of late effects following allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT), a curative treatment for pediatric leukemia, is high: 79% of HCT recipients experience chronic medical conditions. The few extant studies of cognitive late effects have focused on intelligence and are equivocal about HCT neurotoxicity. In an archival study of 30 children (mean transplant age = 6 years), we characterize neuropsychological predictors of academic outcomes. Mean intellectual and academic abilities were average, but evidenced extreme variability, particularly on measures of attention and memory: ∼25% of the sample exhibited borderline performance or lower. Medical predictors of outcome revealed paradoxically better memory associated with more severe acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and associated with steroid treatment. Processing speed and memory accounted for 69% and 61% of variance in mathematics and reading outcomes, respectively. Thus, our findings revealed neurocognitive areas of vulnerability in processing speed and memory following HCT that contribute to subsequent academic difficulties.

Do negative or positive emotions differentially impact mortality after adult stem cell transplant?

Multiple diverse biomedical variables have been shown to affect outcome after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Whether psychosocial variables should be added to the list is controversial. Some empirical reports have fueled skepticism about the relationship between behavioral variables and HSCT survival. Most of these reports have methodological shortcomings. Their samples were small in size and included heterogeneous patient populations with different malignant disease and disease stages. Most data analyses did not control adequately for biomedical factors using multivariate analyses. The pre-transplant evaluations differed from study to study, making cross-study generalizations difficult. Nevertheless, a few recently published studies challenge this skepticism, and provide evidence for deleterious effects of depressive symptomatology on HSCT outcome. This mini review integrates the new data with previously reviewed data, focusing on the differential impact of negative and positive emotional profiles on survival. Pre-transplant negative emotional profiles are associated with worse survival in the long term, whereas pre-transplant optimism about transplant appears to affect survival in the short term. These data have practical implications for transplant teams. Pre-transplant psychological evaluation should assess for specific adverse behavioral risk factors, particularly higher levels of depression and lower levels of optimistic expectations about transplant. Transplant centers should develop collaborative studies to further test the effects of these adverse behavioral risk factors, and run multicenter hypothesis-driven clinical trials of psychological intervention protocols. Such studies should aim to better define pragmatics of assessment and intervention (timing, assessment tools, personnel), and evaluate their contribution to improving outcome after transplant.

How psychometrically sound is the transplant evaluation rating scale for bone marrow transplant recipients?

This paper explores the psychometrics and clinical utility of the Transplant Evaluation Rating Scale (TERS) for bone marrow transplant recipients. On a sample of 345, the TERS exhibits good inter-rater reliability and internal consistency, better than the Psychosocial Levels System (PLS), its precursor, and thus psychometrically justifies the TERS revisions. Addressing a noted gap in the literature, this paper empirically evaluates the TERS weighting system and concludes that it provides no additional predictive utility relative to simply summing unweighted item scores. Finally, this paper's descriptive scale norms for the TERS provide guidance for clinical interpretation of TERS scores.

Behavioral self-management in an inpatient headache treatment unit: increasing adherence and relationship to changes in affective distress

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate prospectively the contribution of a psychological self-management program to the amelioration of headache-related distress of patients with intractable migraine treated in a comprehensive, multidisciplinary, inpatient program.

BACKGROUND

Previous research has shown the effectiveness of this overall inpatient program but did not examine the relationships between the use of relaxation and other headache-related behavioral factors.

METHODS

Data from 221 admissions to a Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities-accredited, nationally recognized, inpatient treatment unit were analyzed for the current study. On admission and on discharge (average length of stay, 12.9 days), subjects completed a 7-day retrospective, self-report questionnaire assessing health behavior compliance and emotional factors. The intervention consisted of intensive medical therapy in addition to cognitive-behavioral treatment delivered in a group setting.

RESULTS

Adherence increased significantly for relaxation practice and life-style modifications of diet, exercise, and sleep regulation for headache prevention (P<.00001). Beck Depression Inventory scores decreased significantly (P<.00001), and a greater decrease in depression by the end of the program was reported by subjects who practiced relaxation most compared with those who practiced relaxation least.

CONCLUSIONS

Low baseline adherence rates for health behavior increased significantly during the final week of inpatient treatment. Behavioral self-management variables, not headache reduction, were significantly associated with patients' reduction in affective distress.