Comparing the efficacy of integrative body-mind-spirit intervention with cognitive behavioral therapy in patient-caregiver parallel groups for lung cancer patients using a randomized controlled trial.

Purposes/objectives: This paper reports the comparative efficacies of integrative body-mind-spirit intervention (I-BMS) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in patient-caregiver parallel groups for Chinese patients with lung cancer.Design: Randomized controlled trial (RCT).Methods: One hundred and fifty-seven patient-caregiver dyads with no marked functional impairment were randomized into one of the two interventions with eight weekly patient-caregiver parallel groups. Assessments were conducted at baseline, within one, eight- and sixteen-weeks post-intervention. Effects of treatment group across time were analyzed by multilevel modeling.Findings: CBT led to greater reduction in emotional vulnerability than I-BMS. I-BMS resulted in greater increase in overall QoL and spiritual self-care, and more reduction in depression than CBT. Patients in both interventions experienced improvement in physical, emotional and spiritual, except social, domains of QoL.Conclusion: I-BMS was more efficacious for diverse domains of QoL, and CBT was more effective for emotional well-being, despite the relatively small between-group effect sizes.Implications for psychosocial providers/policy: (1) With the expanding repertoire of psychosocial interventions for families facing lung cancer, it has become imperative to investigate the comparative efficacies of empirically supported and culturally adapted interventions. (2) Our findings show that I-BMS was more effective for diverse domains of QoL, while CBT was more efficacious with emotional well-being, although both interventions led to significant improvements in physical, emotional and spiritual domains of patient QoL. (3) Patient-caregiver parallel groups have been shown to be effective for enhancing QoL of Chinese lung cancer patients. (4) Care professionals are encouraged to dispense interventions based on the idiosyncratic needs and preferences of the patients to maximize the treatment effects.

Gratitude in infertility: a cross-sectional examination of dispositional gratitude in coping with infertility-related stress in women undergoing IVF.

STUDY QUESTION: Do sense of meaning and acceptance mediate the relationships between gratitude and infertility-related stress among women undergoing IVF? SUMMARY ANSWER: Among women undergoing IVF, the negative relationships between gratitude and infertility-related stress are explained by a general sense of meaningfulness and acceptance of life. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: Infertility experts increasingly call for a re-balancing of the deficit-based view of psychosocial adjustment in IVF, which has been heavily dominated by studies of risk factors and psychological distress. Attention has been given to strength-based perspectives that emphasize character strengths and personal growth. Gratitude has been found to be a potent protective factor in coping with life stressors; however, its salutary effects and protective processes for infertile women undergoing IVF are yet to be explored. STUDY DESIGN SIZE DURATION: This study utilized baseline data of a randomized controlled trial for mind-body interventions with 357 Hong Kong Chinese women. Data collection was conducted between January 2015 and December 2017. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS SETTINGS METHODS: Eligible women were approached by a research assistant immediately after their first medical consultation at an ART centre of a major university-affiliated hospital. Participants were asked to complete a battery of questionnaires, including the Gratitude Questionnaire-6, the Fertility Problem Inventory, and the Holistic Well-Being Scale. Mediation analyses were conducted with bootstrapped samples. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE: Of the 494 women who were approached, 357 (72.3%) provided informed consent and participated in the study. Results show that gratitude was negatively associated with all infertility-related stress domains (rs = -0.19 to -0.36), and these relationships are mediated by acceptance and loss of sense of meaning. Further, the link between gratitude and relationship concerns is mediated by loss of sense of meaning in women with a definable cause of infertility (95% CI = [-0.31, -0.08]), but by acceptance among those with unexplained infertility (95% CI = [-0.33, -0.01]). LIMITATIONS REASONS FOR CAUTION: The cross-sectional nature of the study precluded inferences of causality. Self-selection and self-report biases could be present. Our findings may not be readily generalizable to women who do not intend to undergo psychosocial intervention for their infertility or ART. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS: Our findings support the salutary effects of gratitude in coping with IVF and highlight the role of unexplained infertility in the coping process. These findings offer preliminary support to the use of psychosocial interventions in promoting gratitude, acceptance, and meaning reconstruction for reducing infertility-related stress in women undergoing IVF. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTERESTS: This study was funded by the Hong Kong University Grant Council-General Research Fund (HKU27400414). All authors declare no competing interests. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: HKUCTR-1984.

Dignified Palliative Long-Term Care: An Interpretive Systemic Framework of End-of-Life Integrated Care Pathway for Terminally Ill Chinese Older Adults.

PURPOSE: To critically examine the system dynamics necessary for successfully implementing a novel end-of-life integrated care pathway (EoL-ICP) program in promoting dignity and quality of life among terminally-ill Chinese nursing home residents. METHODS: Thirty stakeholders were recruited to participate in 4 interpretive-systemic focus groups. RESULTS: Framework analysis revealed 10 themes, organized into 3 categories, namely, (1) Regulatory Empowerment (interdisciplinary teamwork, resource allocation, culture building, collaborative policy making), (2) Family-Centered Care (continuity of care, family care conference, partnership in care), and (3) Collective Compassion (devotion in care, empathic understanding, compassionate actions). CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight the importance of organizational structure, social discourse, and shared meaning in the provision of EoL-ICP in Chinese societies, underscoring the significant triangulation between political, cultural, and spiritual contexts embodied in the experience of dignity.