Miri Cohen1, Abraham Kuten. 1. Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Studies, School of Social Work, Haifa University and Social Work Department, Rambam Medical Center, Haifa, Israel. cohenm@research.haifa.ac.il
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to assess the effect of cognitive-behavior (CB) group intervention on the psychological distress and adjustment of relatives of cancer patients with a primary disease. METHODS: A total of 52 relatives of cancer patients participated in a CB group intervention, whereas another 52 served as control subjects. All participants completed preintervention and postintervention measures and a 4-month follow-up questionnaire consisting of the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), the Psychological Adjustment to Illness Scale (PAIS), the Mini Sleep Questionnaire, and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support; participants in the group intervention also reported compliance with home practice. RESULTS: Participants in the intervention group scored significantly lower than the control subjects on the BSI and the PAIS, recorded fewer sleep difficulties in the postintervention and follow-up measures, and reported higher perceived support in the follow-up measure. By contrast, no significant change was observed in the control group during the study period. On the reliable change index, 30.8% of the intervention participants but only 3.9% of the control subjects had statistically significant improvements in their psychological distress. Improvement in the intervention group was associated with higher compliance with home practice. CONCLUSION: This study provides evidence for the positive effect of a CB group intervention for family members, which lasted for 4 months after the intervention ended.
RCT Entities:
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to assess the effect of cognitive-behavior (CB) group intervention on the psychological distress and adjustment of relatives of cancerpatients with a primary disease. METHODS: A total of 52 relatives of cancerpatients participated in a CB group intervention, whereas another 52 served as control subjects. All participants completed preintervention and postintervention measures and a 4-month follow-up questionnaire consisting of the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), the Psychological Adjustment to Illness Scale (PAIS), the Mini Sleep Questionnaire, and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support; participants in the group intervention also reported compliance with home practice. RESULTS:Participants in the intervention group scored significantly lower than the control subjects on the BSI and the PAIS, recorded fewer sleep difficulties in the postintervention and follow-up measures, and reported higher perceived support in the follow-up measure. By contrast, no significant change was observed in the control group during the study period. On the reliable change index, 30.8% of the intervention participants but only 3.9% of the control subjects had statistically significant improvements in their psychological distress. Improvement in the intervention group was associated with higher compliance with home practice. CONCLUSION: This study provides evidence for the positive effect of a CB group intervention for family members, which lasted for 4 months after the intervention ended.
Authors: Charlene J Treanor; Olinda Santin; Gillian Prue; Helen Coleman; Chris R Cardwell; Peter O'Halloran; Michael Donnelly Journal: Cochrane Database Syst Rev Date: 2019-06-17