Rth Ho

A good time to dance? Differential effects of dance movement therapy for breast cancer patients during and after radiotherapy

How patients make use of a specialist nurse function in head and neck cancer: an empirical study

Dance Movement Therapy for Patients Undergoing Radiotherapy: A Qualitative Investigation of Motivation, Needs and Benefits

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is a disruptive s bodies in body experiences in a life context are not sufficiently acknowledged in breast cancer research. Due to the increasing number of breast cancer s ...Abstract presented at the IPOS 15th World Congress of Psycho-Oncology, 4-8 November 2013, Rotterdam, Netherlands

Association of physical activity, health-related outcomes, and patients' confidence in fighting cancer between cancer patients and family caregivers

 Background/purpose: Many people living with cancer experience depression. Research suggests that the therapeutic effect of exercise on depression is similar to pharmacotherapy or psychological intervention, yet cancer survivors are under-exercising compared to recommended doses. Self-efficacy may be a factor to explain exercise engagement. This cross-sectional study investigated whether exercise task self-efficacy (ETSE) was associated with exercise engagement, further examining differences between cancer survivors with and without elevated depressive symptoms. Methods: Ninety-seven cancer survivors (60.8 ±9.9 years) were mailed self-report questionnaires on ETSE, exercise engagement, and depressive symptoms. A Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale D cutoff score (≥8) was used to assign participants to a symptomatic (n = 34) or non-symptomatic group (n = 63). An independent t-test was used to examine differences in ETSE between groups. Correlational analyses were used to examine relationships between exercise task self-efficacy and exercise engagement. Results: There was a significant difference in the degree of exercise task self-efficacy between cancer survivors with (M=35.74, SD= 31.47) and without (M=57.30, SD= 26.71) depressive symptoms, t(95) =_3.56, p<0.01, with a large effect size (d =0.74). A positive association was found between ETSE and exercise engagement, r(95)= 0.49, p<0.01, which was similar for both groups. Conclusions: Exercise task self-efficacy appears to influence exercise engagement independently of mood status, but people with higher levels of depression symptoms tend to have lower self-efficacy. Therefore, future research should examine interventions to enhance exercise task self-efficacy, thereby potentially increasing exercise engagement in cancer survivors. Research Implications: These findings demonstrated that cancer survivors with depressive symptoms have low ETSE and that ETSE can predict exercise engagement. This suggests a role for enhancing ETSE to influence exercise engagement in cancer survivors. Future research could investigate causality between ETSE and exercise engagement and interventions to enhance ETSE. The findings of the present study could assist with more definitive research which could aid clinicians interested in behavioral change with regard to exercise engagement and improvement of depressive symptomatology in cancer survivors. Practice Implications: The findings illustrate that exercise self-efficacy predicts exercise engagement, independently of mood. Therefore, clinicians working with depressed or non-depressed cancer survivors should initially target increasing exercise self-efficacy as opposed to reinforcing the positive health benefits of increased physical activity.

A psychometric evaluation of the Chinese mini-mental adjustment to cancer scale

Conference Theme: Integrating Psycho-Oncology into Mainstream Cancer Care; From Research to Action

EPA-0752 – Spirituality in schizophrenia: do patients and healthcare professionals have similar understanding

Background The special mental states such as hallucination and confusion in schizophrenia have been creating obstacles in research in spirituality in this population. Although primary treatment should focus on symptom management, psychosocial and spiritual care should not be neglected. This study aimed to understand spirituality from the perspectives of both the patients and the healthcare professionals and its role in different stages of disease and rehabilitation. Method Schizophrenic patients (n=22) and healthcare professionals including psychiatric doctors, nurses, and social workers (n=19) were recruited from an out-patient clinic of a hospital and a mental health rehabilitation complex. Semi-structured interviews on the meaning and experiences of spirituality, and its role in rehabilitation were conducted, with follow-up interviews when further clarification was needed. Interviews were transcribed into verbatim and analyzed with the assistance of computer software based on Ground theory. Trustworthiness was assured through member checking and peer scrutiny. Results Both patients and professionals regarded spirituality as an inherent part of the patients’ well-being. Spirituality could be a practice, a way of thinking, sense of peace and fulfillment, and connectedness towards oneself, others, and a higher power. Spiritual experiences were helpful in the rehabilitation phase. However, some patients considered spirituality as apparitional experiences, thus hindered their recovery. Conclusion This study demonstrated that the spirituality played a part in patients’ lives and rehabilitation. Findings suggest the importance of spiritual care in this population and provide insights and roadmap for developing spiritual assessments and holistic care in psychiatric context. This study is supported by RGCGRF / HKU745511H .

The effects of Body-mind-spirit (BMS) Group therapy and Supportive-expressive (SE) Group therapy on perceived stress and emotional control in breast cancer patients

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is a disruptive s bodies in body experiences in a life context are not sufficiently acknowledged in breast cancer research. Due to the increasing number of breast cancer s ...Abstract presented at the IPOS 15th World Congress of Psycho-Oncology, 4-8 November 2013, Rotterdam, Netherlands

Unmarried Women With Breast Cancer: Their Psychological Distress and Quality of Life After Treatment

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is a disruptive s bodies in body experiences in a life context are not sufficiently acknowledged in breast cancer research. Due to the increasing number of breast cancer s ...Abstract presented at the IPOS 15th World Congress of Psycho-Oncology, 4-8 November 2013, Rotterdam, Netherlands

When social support rises above all: determinants of end-of-life-treatment and long-term anxiety and depression for Chinese female cancer survivors

The current study aimed to improve the ecological validity of objective cognitive assessment in two ways: (1) by testing prospective memory, a type of cognition that involves remembering to carry out an action when there are distracting ongoing tasks, and (2) by using a virtual reality environment that is more similar to participants’ everyday cognitive challenges than standard neuropsychological tests. The study examined whether prospective memory (PM) performance among breast cancer survivors (BCS) exposed to chemotherapy differed from that seen in a demographically matched control group. Twenty-six female survivors of breast cancer who received chemotherapy that finished 0.5-5 years prior to the time of testing were compared with 25 age- and education-matched women with no history of cancer. Participants completed event-, time- and activity-based PM measures; standardized neuropsychological tests assessing attention and concentration, executive function and verbal memory; and self-report measures of cognitive dysfunction and PM failures. The BCS group showed significantly slower speed of processing on the test of attention and concentration as well as trends towards slower dual task performance. The BCS group reported significantly more cognitive complaints and PM failures than the control group on five of six self-report measures. The groups did not differ on other prospective memory or neuropsychological measures. PM tasks correlated significantly with both standard neuropsychological tasks and with self-reported cognitive function in everyday life. The results provide some evidence for correspondence between more ecologically valid objective measures and self-reported cognitive impairment following chemotherapy treatment. Further research into PM performance in this clinical group appears warranted.

Chinese breast cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy: role of fatigue and its influences on their quality of life

Abstract of a poster presentation presented at the Joint Meeting of the COSA 39th Annual Scientific Meeting and IPOS 14th World Congress of Psycho-Oncology, 13-15 November 2012, Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.