Pierfrancesco Franco1, Marialaura Di Tella2, Valentina Tesio2, Anne Gasnier3, Steven Petit4, Mateusz Spalek5, Jean-Emmanuel Bibault6, Ludwig Dubois7, Laura Mullaney8, Kathrine Røe Redalen9, Cyrus Chargari10, Sophie Perryck11, Martin-Immanuel Bittner12, Jenny Bertholet13, Lorys Castelli2. 1. European Society for Radiotherapy&Oncology (ESTRO) Young Committee, Brussels, Belgium; Department of Oncology, Radiation Oncology, University of Turin, Italy. Electronic address: pierfrancesco.franco@unito.it. 2. Department of Psychology, "ReMind the Body" Research Group, University of Turin, Italy. 3. Radiotherapy Department, Gustave Roussy Cancer Campus, Villejuif, France. 4. European Society for Radiotherapy&Oncology (ESTRO) Young Committee, Brussels, Belgium; Department of Radiation Oncology - Erasmus Cancer Institute, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. 5. 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. 6. European Society for Radiotherapy&Oncology (ESTRO) Young Committee, Brussels, Belgium; Department of Radiation Oncology, Stanford University School of Medicine, United States. 7. 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. 8. 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. 9. European Society for Radiotherapy&Oncology (ESTRO) Young Committee, Brussels, Belgium; Department of Physics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway. 10. European Society for Radiotherapy&Oncology (ESTRO) Young Committee, Brussels, Belgium; Radiotherapy Department, Gustave Roussy Cancer Campus, Villejuif, France. 11. European Society for Radiotherapy&Oncology (ESTRO) Young Committee, Brussels, Belgium; Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Zurich and University of Zurich, Switzerland. 12. European Society for Radiotherapy&Oncology (ESTRO) Young Committee, Brussels, Belgium; Arctoris, Oxford, United Kingdom. 13. 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.
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.
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.