- Title
- Beating the blues after cancer: randomised controlled trial of a tele-based psychological intervention for high distress patients and carers
- Creator
- Chambers, Suzanne K.; Girgis, Afaf; Occhipinti, Stefano; Hutchison, Sandy; Turner, Jane; Carter, Rob; Dunn, Jeff
- Relation
- BMC Cancer Vol. 9, Issue 189
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2407-9-189
- Publisher
- BioMed Central
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2009
- Description
- Background: The diagnosis and treatment of cancer is a major life stress such that approximately 35% of patients experience persistent clinically significant distress and carers often experience even higher distress than patients. This paper presents the design of a two arm randomised controlled trial with patients and carers who have elevated psychological distress comparing minimal contact self management vs. an individualised tele-based cognitive behavioural intervention. Methods/design: 140 patients and 140 carers per condition (560 participants in total) will been recruited after being identified as high distress through caller screening at two community-based cancer helplines and randomised to 1) a single 30-minute telephone support and education session with a nurse counsellor with self management materials 2) a tele-based psychologist delivered five session individualised cognitive behavioural intervention. Session components will include stress reduction, problem-solving, cognitive challenging and enhancing relationship support and will be delivered weekly. Participants will be assessed at baseline and 3, 6 and 12 months after recruitment. Outcome measures include: anxiety and depression, cancer specific distress, unmet psychological supportive care needs, positive adjustment, overall Quality of life. Discussion: The study will provide recommendations about the efficacy and potential economic value of minimal contact self management vs. tele-based psychologist delivered cognitive behavioural intervention to facilitate better psychosocial adjustment and mental health for people with cancer and their carers.
- Subject
- cancer; self intervention; cognitive behavioural intervention; mental health
- Identifier
- uon:7313
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/807142
- Identifier
- ISSN:1471-2407
- Full Text
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