The effect of expressive writing intervention on psychological and physical health outcomes in cancer patients--a systematic review and meta-analysis

Effects of expressive helping writing during stem cell transplant: Randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVE

Most cancer patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplant report elevated symptoms and reduced health-related quality of life during peritransplant. These concerns can become persistent. A prior randomized controlled trial showed that expressive helping-a low-burden, brief intervention combining expressive writing with a novel peer support writing exercise-reduced psychological distress and physical symptoms in long-term transplant survivors with moderate/high persistent symptoms. The Writing for Insight, Strength, and Ease trial evaluated the use of expressive helping during peritransplant, when symptoms peak and early intervention could prevent the development of persistent symptoms.

METHOD

Three hundred sixty-six adult blood cancer patients (44.3% female, 74.6% White, 13.4% Black, 11.5% Hispanic/Latinx) scheduled for allogeneic (33.9%) or autologous (66.1%) transplant were randomized to complete either expressive helping or a neutral writing task in four writing sessions beginning pretransplant and ending 4 weeks posthospital discharge. Symptom severity (primary outcome), distress (depressive symptoms, generalized and cancer-specific anxiety), health-related quality of life, and fatigue were measured in multiple assessments from prerandomization to 12 months postintervention. Primary endpoints at 3 and 12 months postintervention estimated short- and long-term intervention effects. Moderation analyses explored subgroup differences in intervention efficacy.

RESULTS

Mixed models with repeated measures analyses revealed no statistically or clinically significant intervention effects on primary or secondary outcomes. Moderation analyses did not identify subgroups of participants who benefitted from the intervention.

CONCLUSION

Findings do not support use of expressive helping during peritransplant. We recommend that survivors with persistent symptoms complete expressive helping at least 9 months posttransplant, consistent with evidence from a prior trial. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Self-affirmation intervention for patients newly diagnosed with advanced cancer: a preliminary efficacy trial

OBJECTIVE

Cancer diagnosis represents a life crisis. It remains unclear whether/what psychosocial intervention may enhance cancer patients' quality of life (QoL) during existential plight. This study aimed to examine preliminary efficacy of a brief writing intervention for patients newly diagnosed with advanced cancer with a focus on affirming personally important values and beliefs.

METHODS

This is a single-arm pilot study testing effect of a 4-week home-based self-affirmation writing intervention for patients newly diagnosed with advanced cancer using interrupted time series design (NCT05235750). Patients were eligible if they were newly diagnosed (within 8 weeks) with advanced stage (III or IV) or recurrent cancer. Longitudinal analyses were performed using generalized linear mixed model incorporating the correlation of repeated measures. All statistical analyses were performed at 5% significance level using SAS® (version 9.4).

RESULTS

Fifty-seven patients newly diagnosed with advanced stage cancer with a mean age of 63 years balanced in gender were enrolled. Intent-to-treat analysis revealed significant post-intervention change for Faith as measured by the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being 12 item scale (FACIT-Sp-12) (ES 0.23, p = .05) and Ge6 "I worry that my condition will get worse" as measured by the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - General (FACT-G) (ES 0.26, p = .10). When comparing changes pre- and post-intervention, Ge6 remained clinically significant (ESΔ 0.36, p = .27).

CONCLUSIONS

Self-affirmation via writing showed initial short-term efficacy in relieving cancer-specific existential concerns (Ge6 "I worry that my condition will get worse") and may be a promising innovative intervention approach that warrant randomized experiments to verify. Further research is also needed to find out who may most likely benefit from this intervention.

The Effect of Expressive Writing on the Experiences of Head and Neck Cancer Patients Undergoing Radiotherapy: A Randomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND

Expressive writing (EW) has emerged as an innovative strategy for improving mood and quality of life. Nevertheless, insufficient research has been conducted on the impact of offering EW to patients with HNC. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of two forms of EW on anxiety, depression, nutrition, and sleep quality in HNC patients undergoing radiotherapy.

METHODS

We conducted a single-blind, pretest, posttest, three-group randomized controlled trial. A total of 147 patients with HNC were randomly assigned to a benefit-finding writing group, neutral writing group, or control group. The intervention group patients performed EW during radiotherapy, with each writing session lasting 20 min, once a week for 4 consecutive weeks. Patient anxiety, depression, nutritional status, and sleep quality were measured at baseline (T0) and at the end of radiotherapy (T1).

RESULTS

After 4 weeks of intervention, patients in the BF and NW groups experienced improvements in anxiety, depression, and sleep (p < 0.05) compared with those in the CG group, but the intervention did not significantly affect patients' nutritional status (p > 0.05). Compared with those in the CG, anxiety in the BF and NW groups slowed down the trend of increasing anxiety, and repeated measures analysis revealed a significant group × time interaction (p = 0.017, F = 4.205, η2 = 0.059). Compared with those in the CG, the depression levels in the BF and NW groups were lower than those at baseline, and repeated measurement analysis revealed that the interaction effect between group × time was significant (p = 0.000, F = 16.262, η2 = 0.194). The sleep quality in the CG progressively worsened from T0 to T1 (p < 0.01), whereas in the BF, it progressively improved (p < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides preliminary evidence that two forms of EW are effective in alleviating anxiety and depression and improving sleep in patients with HNC but are not effective in improving their nutritional status.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ChiCTR2400084964.

Writing to Keep on Living: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis on Creative Writing Therapy for the Management of Depression and Suicidal Ideation

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

The purpose of this review and meta-analysis was to explore the effectiveness of creative writing therapies for the management of depression and suicidal ideation.

RECENT FINDINGS

Twenty one of the 31 reviewed studies showed that creative writing significantly improved depressive symptoms, while five studies suggested improvement in other symptoms. The results of meta-analyses showed that narrative writing significantly reduced depression compared to those in neutral writing or treatment as usual condition in both post intervention and follow-up. However, the number of studies exploring the effects of creative writing in suicidal ideation was too low to perform a meta-analysis. A structured and well-targeted intervention using creative writing could have beneficial results for the management of depressive symptoms. More studies are needed to explore the potential benefits of creative writing for reducing suicidal ideation.

Use of photo methods in research studies with cancer survivors and their caregivers: a scoping review

PURPOSE

Photo methods such as photo-elicitation and photovoice have traditionally been implemented as knowledge-generation techniques; however, they have also been conceptualized as tools for community impact and as interventions in and of themselves. We performed a scoping review to document how photo methods have been used in studies of cancer, to describe participant populations, and to identify opportunities for future directions for the use of photo methods in cancer.

METHODS

An a priori search strategy was implemented across health-related databases with the following inclusion criteria: (1) study participants were diagnosed with cancer and/or were caregivers of those with cancer; (2) study participants were asked to take and/or respond to photographs as part of the study protocol; (3) articles were published in peer-reviewed journals; (4) articles were written in English.

RESULTS

Eighty non-duplicative articles were identified; of these, 30 articles describing 24 individual studies were included for review. All but one (95.8%) of the studies utilized photovoice solely as a knowledge-generation technique without participant outcome measurement or analysis. Across all included studies, participants were largely women with breast cancer; other demographic and cancer-related variables (e.g., race and cancer stage) were not consistently reported. Caregivers were included in 37.5% of studies.

CONCLUSION

Photo methods are most frequently used in order to capture qualitative data in cancer populations; however, there are missed opportunities in their lack of use for intervention and systemic change. In addition, inconsistent reporting of demographics and cancer characteristics limits our ability to synthesize these data across studies.

Using expressive writing to improve cancer caregiver and patient health: A randomized controlled feasibility trial

PURPOSE

This study examined the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of Expressive Writing (EW) in improving informal cancer caregiver (IC) and patient health, and enhancing ICs' emotion regulation.

METHOD

Fifty-eight breast cancer ICs and patients participated in a randomized controlled feasibility trial of remote EW. ICs were randomly assigned to the EW or control group and completed 3 weekly writing sessions. ICs and patients completed health and emotion regulation assessments at baseline, intervention completion, and 3 months post-intervention. Screening, recruitment, assessment process, randomization, retention, treatment adherence, and treatment fidelity were computed for feasibility. Effect sizes were calculated using the PROMIS Depression Short Form, RAND Short Form 36 Health Survey, Breast Cancer Prevention Trial Hormonal Symptom checklist, healthcare utilization, and the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire for efficacy.

RESULTS

Of the 232 interested individuals, 82 were screened, and 60 enrolled (6 monthly). Two individuals withdrew and 19 were lost to follow-up, leaving 39 individuals. ICs completed at least one assessment and two sessions, and patients completed at least two assessments. All sessions were administered as intended. ICs generally followed instructions (88%-100%), wrote the full time (66.7%-100%), and were engaged (M(SD) = 3.00(1.29)-4.00(0.00)). EW had small-to-medium effects in improving IC health (g = -0.27-0.04) and small-to-large effects in improving patient health (g = -0.28-0.86). EW moderately decreased suppression (g = 0.53-0.54) and slightly increased reappraisal, at least 3 months post-intervention (g = -0.34-0.20).

CONCLUSIONS

Remote EW may be feasible with cancer ICs and improve cancer IC and patient health. However, it can benefit from additional retention strategies and rigorous testing.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

CenterWatch Clinical Trials Listing Service (#TX217874); ClinicalTrials.gov (#NCT06123416).

Promoting post-traumatic growth in cancer patients: a randomized controlled trial of guided written disclosure

Background

Cancer is a life-threatening disease that triggers not only vulnerability to distressing symptoms but also a meaning-making process that may lead to post-traumatic growth. As people often struggle to integrate cancer illness into their meaning system to reach an adaptive meaning, psychological interventions focused on a reappraisal of the illness experience can facilitate this process. This multicenter randomized controlled trial (RCT) was primarily aimed at assessing the efficacy of a writing intervention known as a guided disclosure protocol (GDP), compared to a generic writing intervention, in promoting post-traumatic growth in stage I-III breast and colon cancer patients at the end of their adjuvant chemotherapy.

Methods

Between January 2016 and August 2020 recruitment of eligible subjects took place during follow-up clinical consultations. Assessment occurred at baseline (T0), after the intervention (T1, 3 months from baseline), and at 6 months from baseline (T2). Both interventions consisted of three 20-min writing sessions to be performed once every two weeks. Change in post-traumatic growth was assessed using the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory, meaning with the Constructed Meaning Scale, and psychological distress with the Impact of Event Scale and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.

Results

In the five participating centers, 102 eligible patients were randomized and 72 participants completed follow-up evaluation. Most patients were women (79.4%), had breast cancer (68.6%), and stage I (27.5%), or stage II (44.1%) disease. Mean differences did not reach statistical significance for any of the dependent variables. However, an effect of the GDP, although not statistically relevant, was observed after the intervention in terms of enhanced post-traumatic growth and increased distress measured with the Impact of Event Scale.

Conclusion

This is the first RCT investigating the efficacy of a GDP in cancer patients having post-traumatic growth as the primary aim. Though GDP is a promising intervention in promoting post-traumatic growth, the lack of statistical significance of our findings may be due to the study being underpowered, hence this trial should be replicated with an adequate sample size, paying attention to supporting recruitment.

Clinical trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: 2015/0024360.

Systematic review and meta-analysis of the effectiveness of expressive writing disclosure on cancer and palliative care patients' health-related outcomes

OBJECTIVES

This review aimed to synthesize the available evidence on the effectiveness of expressive writing (EW) on health outcomes of patients with cancer.

METHODS

A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Six databases were searched from 1986 to 9 July 2022. The searches were updated on 3 October 2023. Methodological quality was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and ROBINS-I tool for non-RCTs Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Narrative synthesis of outcomes was performed where meta-analysis was not appropriate.

RESULTS

Thirty-four studies with 4316 participants were identified, including 31 RCTs and three non-RCTs. Twenty-one studies focused on women with breast cancer; the remainder recruited people with various cancer types. There was a significant improvement in fatigue (SMD =  - 0.3, 95% CI - 0.55 to - 0.66, P = .002), passive mood (MD =  - 3.26, 95% CI =  - 5.83 to - 0.69, P = 0.001), and the physical dimension of quality of life (MD = 3.21, 95% CI 0.18 to 6.25, P = 0.04) but not for anxiety, depression, and global quality of life among patients who participated in EW when compared with control groups.

CONCLUSION

Findings showed some benefits of EW for people with cancer, but not necessarily in anxiety or depression. Heterogeneity in the delivery of interventions and their content, and shortcomings in the methodologies used highlight the need for stronger evidence in the field through high-quality trials and consistencies in the protocol, focusing on outcomes that this review highlighted as potential outcome targets.

Integrative Oncology Care of Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression in Adults With Cancer: Society for Integrative Oncology-ASCO Guideline

PURPOSE

To provide evidence-based recommendations to health care providers on integrative approaches to managing anxiety and depression symptoms in adults living with cancer.

METHODS

The Society for Integrative Oncology and ASCO convened an expert panel of integrative oncology, medical oncology, radiation oncology, surgical oncology, palliative oncology, social sciences, mind-body medicine, nursing, methodology, and patient advocacy representatives. The literature search included systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and randomized controlled trials published from 1990 through 2023. Outcomes of interest included anxiety or depression symptoms as measured by validated psychometric tools, and adverse events. Expert panel members used this evidence and informal consensus with the Guidelines into Decision Support methodology to develop evidence-based guideline recommendations.

RESULTS

The literature search identified 110 relevant studies (30 systematic reviews and 80 randomized controlled trials) to inform the evidence base for this guideline.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Recommendations were made for mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs), yoga, relaxation, music therapy, reflexology, and aromatherapy (using inhalation) for treating symptoms of anxiety during active treatment; and MBIs, yoga, acupuncture, tai chi and/or qigong, and reflexology for treating anxiety symptoms after cancer treatment. For depression symptoms, MBIs, yoga, music therapy, relaxation, and reflexology were recommended during treatment, and MBIs, yoga, and tai chi and/or qigong were recommended post-treatment.

DISCUSSION

Issues of patient-health care provider communication, health disparities, comorbid medical conditions, cost implications, guideline implementation, provider training and credentialing, and quality assurance of natural health products are discussed. While several approaches such as MBIs and yoga appear effective, limitations of the evidence base including assessment of risk of bias, nonstandardization of therapies, lack of diversity in study samples, and lack of active control conditions as well as future research directions are discussed.Additional information is available at www.asco.org/survivorship-guidelines.

The role of the communicated treatment rationale on treatment outcome: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Placebo effects are a well-established phenomenon in the treatment of depression. However, the mechanism underlying these effects are not fully understood. Treatment expectations are considered one explanation for why placebos work. Treatment expectations are likely to be affected by clinician-patient interactions. This study aims to investigate the role of the communicated treatment rationale in modulating treatment expectations and its effects on the treatment outcomes of a pharmacological and a psychological active placebo intervention for depression. In this study, treatment expectations are modulated by presenting illness models that are either congruent or incongruent with the treatment intervention that follows.

METHODS

This 2 × 2 randomized controlled trial will involve patients with major depression. Participants will either receive a biological or a psychological illness model from a clinician. Following this, they are randomly assigned to receive either a pharmacological or a psychological active placebo intervention. The illness model and the treatment are either congruent or incongruent with each other, resulting in four groups. In addition, a natural course control group will be included.

DISCUSSION

This study will provide insights into the mechanism of expectation modulation in active placebo treatments for major depression. The results may provide insights for clinicians to improve their communication with patients by focusing on treatment expectations. By identifying the factors that contribute to placebo effects, this study has the potential to improve the effectiveness of existing depression treatments and reduce the burden of this highly prevalent mental health condition.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

This trial has been registered prospectively at ClinicalTrials.gov under the identifier: NCT04719663. Registered on January 22, 2021.

Cancer survival stories: Perception, creation, and potential use case

BACKGROUND

Cancer patients often search for information about their health conditions online. Cancer patient narratives have established themselves as a way of providing information and education but also as an effective approach to improving coping with the disease.

OBJECTIVE

We investigated how people affected by cancer perceive cancer patient narratives and whether such stories can potentially improve coping during their own cancer journeys. Additionally, we reflected on whether our co-creative citizen science approach can contribute to gaining knowledge about cancer survival stories and providing peer support.

DESIGN, SETTING AND STAKEHOLDERS

We applied a co-creative citizen science approach by using quantitative and qualitative research methods with stakeholders (i.e., cancer patients, their relatives, friends and health professionals).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Understandability and perceived benefits of cancer survival stories, coping, emotional reactions to the stories and helpful characteristics of the stories.

RESULTS

Cancer survival stories were considered intelligible and beneficial, and they potentially support positive emotions and coping in people affected by cancer. Together with the stakeholders, we identified four main characteristics that evoked positive emotions and that were considered especially helpful: (1) positive attitudes towards life, (2) encouraging cancer journeys, (3) individual coping strategies for everyday challenges and (4) openly shared vulnerabilities.

CONCLUSIONS

Cancer survival stories potentially support positive emotions and coping in people affected by cancer. A citizen science approach is suitable for identifying relevant characteristics of cancer survival stories and may become a helpful educational peer support resource for people coping with cancer.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTIONS

We adopted a co-creative citizen science approach, wherein citizens and researchers were equally involved throughout the entire project.

Can emotional expressivity and writing content predict beneficial effects of expressive writing among breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy? A secondary analysis of randomized controlled trial data from China

BACKGROUND

To explore whether emotional expressivity and the patterns of language use could predict benefits from expressive writing (EW) of breast cancer (BC) patients in a culture that strongly discourages emotional disclosure.

METHODS

Data were obtained from a recent trial in which we compared the health outcomes between a prolonged EW group (12 sessions) and a standard EW group (four sessions) (n = 56 per group) of BC patients receiving chemotherapy. The Chinese texts were tokenized using the THU Lexical Analyser for Chinese. Then, LIWC2015 was used to quantify positive and negative affect word use.

RESULTS

Our first hypothesis that BC patients with higher levels of emotional expressivity tended to use higher levels of positive and negative affect words in texts was not supported (r = 0.067, p = 0.549 and r = 0.065, p = 0.559, respectively). The level of emotional expressivity has a significant effect on the quality of life (QOL), and those who used more positive or fewer negative affective words in texts had a better QOL (all p < 0.05). However, no significant difference was identified in physical and psychological well-being (all p > 0.05). Furthermore, the patterns of affective word use during EW did not mediate the effects of emotional expressivity on health outcomes (all p > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that the level of emotional expressivity and the pattern of affective word use could be factors that may moderate the effects of EW on QOL, which may help clinicians identify the individuals most likely to benefit from such writing exercises in China.

A Blog Text Analysis to Explore Psychosocial Support in Adolescents and Young Adults With Cancer

BACKGROUND

The achievement of developmental milestones of adolescents and young adults (AYAs) is significantly challenged by a cancer diagnosis and treatment. To help with challenges in AYAs with cancer, various types of psychosocial support have been studied to cope with cancer and seek optimal well-being. However, despite differences among AYAs' developmental stages, AYAs with cancer are often treated as a homogeneous group in research and hospital settings.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to identify and compare psychosocial support that facilitates the well-being of AYAs with cancer.

METHODS

Quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted on AYAs' perceived psychosocial support as expressed on an online cancer community. Themes were identified using qualitative content analysis, and descriptive quantitative methods were used to compare themes by age and gender.

RESULTS

Seven themes emerged: coping skill building, self-transcendence, family support, support from friends, professional support, peer support including online and offline support groups, and accommodation. There were no significant differences in the frequency of posts between age and gender variables by theme. However, the details of the themes were qualitatively different by age and gender.

CONCLUSIONS

The psychosocial support AYAs perceived may differ by age and gender. This study suggests opportunities for nurses to contribute their support to AYAs' perceived psychosocial support throughout AYAs' cancer journeys.

IMPLICATION FOR PRACTICE

The sources of support that can help AYAs with cancer should be routinely available rather than in response to crisis.

The delayed, durable effect of expressive writing on depression, anxiety and stress: A meta-analytic review of studies with long-term follow-ups

BACKGROUND

Expressive writing is a promising tool to heal the wounds with words.

AIMS

This meta-analysis evaluated the current state of efficacy of expressive writing on depression, anxiety and stress symptoms among healthy and subclinical samples.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Thirty-one experimental studies (N = 4012) with randomized controlled trials and follow-up assessments were analysed.

RESULTS

Results showed that expressive writing had an overall small but significant effect (Hedges' g = -0.12, 95% CI [-0.21, -0.04]) on reducing symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress. Change score analyses suggested that the intervention effect emerged after a delay, as evidenced by assessments at follow-up periods. Moderator analyses indicated that the effect sizes varied as a function of one intervention feature: interval. Studies that implemented short intervals (1-3 days) between writing sessions yielded stronger effects (G_diff  = -0.18, p = .01) relative to studies that implemented medium intervals (4-7 days) or long intervals (>7 days). The effects of expressive writing remained consistent across other intervention features including focus, instruction, number of sessions, topic repetition and delivery mode.

DISCUSSION

Together, these findings provide evidence for the delayed, durable effect of expressive writing and underscore the importance of scheduling writing sessions at short intervals.

CONCLUSION

Implications for incorporating expressive writing into clinical practice and daily life are discussed.

Qualitative similarities and distinctions between participants' experiences with a yoga intervention and an attention control

PURPOSE

This manuscript aims to compare and contrast acceptability and perceived benefits of yoga-skills training (YST) and an empathic listening attention control (AC) in the Pro-You study, a randomized pilot trial of YST vs. AC for adults receiving chemotherapy infusions for gastrointestinal cancer.

METHODS

Participants were invited for a one-on-one interview at week 14 follow-up, after completing all intervention procedures and quantitative assessments. Staff used a semi-structured guide to elicit participants' views on study processes, the intervention they received, and its effects. Qualitative data analysis followed an inductive/deductive approach, inductively identifying themes and deductively guided by social cognitive theory.

RESULTS

Some barriers (e.g., competing demands, symptoms), facilitators (e.g., interventionist support, the convenience of clinic-based delivery), and benefits (e.g., decreased distress and rumination) were common across groups. YST participants uniquely described the importance of privacy, social support, and self-efficacy for increasing engagement in yoga. Benefits specific to YST included positive emotions and greater improvement in fatigue and other physical symptoms. Both groups described some self-regulatory processes, but through different mechanisms: self-monitoring in AC and the mind-body connection in YST.

CONCLUSIONS

This qualitative analysis demonstrates that participant experiences in a yoga-based intervention or an AC condition reflect social cognitive and mind-body frameworks of self-regulation. Findings can be used to develop yoga interventions that maximize acceptability and effectiveness and to design future research that elucidates the mechanisms by which yoga is efficacious.

Effectiveness of Expressive Writing in Kidney Transplanted Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial Study

The present study aimed to assess the effectiveness of an expressive writing (EW) intervention on psychological and physiological variables after kidney transplant. The final sample of 26 were randomly assigned to an expressive writing group (EWG) and control group (CG). Outcomes were focused on depression, anxiety, alexithymia, empathy, resilience, locus of control, creatinine, CDK-EPI, and azotemia. Depressive symptoms and alexithymia levels decreased in the EWG, with better adherence. Resilience declined over time in both groups. The EWG showed a significantly higher CDK-EPI, indicating better renal functioning. EW seems an effective intervention to improve the psychological health of transplanted patients, with a possible effect on renal functioning. These findings open the possibility of planning brief psychological interventions aimed at processing emotional involvement, in order to increase adherence, the acceptance of the organ, and savings in healthcare costs.

Can an online expressive writing program support people with inflammatory bowel disease? A feasibility randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND

We explored feasibility, acceptability and preliminary efficacy of an online writing intervention (WriteforIBD) against an active control condition for distress in people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

A feasibility RCT was conducted in 19 adults (89.5% female, aged 20-69 years) with IBD and mild-moderate distress. Participants allocated to the WriteForIBD group completed a 4-day 30-min writing program adapted for IBD. The active control group wrote about trivial topics provided by researchers. Feasibility was established based on the recruitment and retention while acceptability based on completion rates and a numeric rating scale. All participants completed measures of mental health and disease activity before and after the intervention (one week) and at follow-up three months after the study commencement.

RESULTS

The retention rate in the study was high (100% WriteForIBD; 82% control). All participants attended every session. 84.2% of participants were satisfied with the intervention. All participants reported a significant improvement in IBD-Control immediately after the intervention; F (2, 33.7) = 7.641, p = .002. A significant interaction of group*time for resilience was noted, R² = 0.19, p < .001, with the active control group reporting a significant decline in resilience from the first follow-up to three months while no significant change in resilience for the WriteForIBD group was recorded.

CONCLUSIONS

Online expressive writing is potentially feasible and highly acceptable to people with IBD who report distress. Future large-scale trials should explore the intervention that is adapted from this feasibility study.

REGISTRATION

ID: ACTRN12620000448943p.

Disentangling the effects of trait and state worry on error-related brain activity: Results from a randomized controlled trial using worry manipulations

Enhanced amplitudes of the error-related negativity (ERN) have been suggested to be a transdiagnostic neural risk marker for internalizing psychopathology. Previous studies propose worry to be an underlying mechanism driving the association between enhanced ERN and anxiety. The present preregistered study focused on disentangling possible effects of trait and state worry on the ERN by utilizing a cross sectional observational and a longitudinal randomized controlled experimental design. To this end, we examined the ERN of n = 90 students during a flanker task (T0), which were then randomly assigned to one of three groups (worry induction, worry reduction, passive control group). Following the intervention, participants performed another flanker task (T1) to determine potential alterations of their ERN. Manipulation checks revealed that compared to the control group, state worry increased in the induction but also in the reduction group. ERN amplitudes did not vary as a function of state worry. An association of trait worry with larger ERN amplitudes was only observed in females. Furthermore, we found larger ERN amplitudes in participants with a current or lifetime diagnosis of internalizing disorders. In summary, our findings suggest that the ERN seems to be insensitive to variations in state worry, but that an elevated ERN is associated with the trait-like tendency to worry and internalizing psychopathology, which is consistent with the notion that the ERN likely represents a trait-like neural risk associated with anxiety.

Getting Creative: Pilot Study of a Coached Writing Intervention in Patients with Advanced Cancer at a Rural Academic Medical Center

Background: Unfacilitated writing activities, such as expressive writing, have not shown benefit in people with advanced cancer, but facilitated writing activities have yet to be fully explored. Objectives: To assess the feasibility and acceptability of facilitated writing activities determined by a writing coach in people with advanced incurable cancer. Design: This is a single-arm pilot study. Settings/Subjects: Adult patients with advanced incurable solid malignancies from a U.S. rural comprehensive cancer program met with a writing coach monthly for at least three months for facilitated writing activities. Measurements: Feasibility was assessed by enrollment and postinclusion attrition rate. Acceptability was assessed by (1) <15% drop out rate due to the intervention, (2) <15% elevated anxiety or depression due to the intervention, and (3) patient qualitative comments. Results: In total, 22 out of 63 patients consented (35%). Postinclusion attrition rate was 18% (n = 4) at three months with 82% completing at least three months of the writing coach intervention. No participants dropped out or had elevated anxiety/depression due to the intervention. The majority of patients wanted the whole intervention continued. Conclusions: A writing coach using facilitated writing activities was feasible and acceptable in patients with advanced incurable cancer, but further studies are needed to assess impact. Clinical Trial Registration Number NCT 025 75898.

A Brief Gratitude Writing Intervention Decreased Stress and Negative Affect During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Exploring ways to mitigate the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic is important for long-term health. Expressive and gratitude-focused writing are effective methods to help individuals process traumatic or stressful events. Gratitude-focused writing may yield additional benefits because it helps individuals appraise events positively. We hypothesized that an online gratitude writing intervention would yield greater benefits than an expressive writing intervention or control group. Participants were randomized to one of three groups and completed assessments one-week and one-month post-intervention. The gratitude writing group maintained gratitude levels and decreased stress and negative affect at one-month post-intervention. The expressive writing group decreased in gratitude and showed no changes in stress or negative affect at one-month post-intervention. The control group decreased in gratitude and negative affect and showed no changes in stress at one-month post-intervention. Gratitude writing may be a better resource for dealing with stress and negative affect than traditional expressive writing methods under extremely stressful situations with uncertain trajectories.

Efficacy of expressive helping in adult hematologic cancer patients undergoing stem cell transplant: protocol for the Writing for Insight, Strength, and Ease (WISE) study's two-arm randomized controlled trial

Background

During, shortly after, and sometimes for years after hematopoietic stem cell transplant, a large proportion of hematological cancer patients undergoing transplant report significant physical and psychological symptoms and reduced health-related quality of life. To address these survivorship problems, we developed a low-burden, brief psychological intervention called expressive helping that includes two theory- and evidence-based components designed to work together synergistically: emotionally expressive writing and peer support writing. Building on evidence from a prior randomized control trial showing reductions in physical symptoms and distress in long-term transplant survivors with persistent survivorship problems, the Writing for Insight, Strength, and Ease (WISE) trial will evaluate the efficacy of expressive helping when used during transplant and in the early post-transplant period, when symptoms peak, and when intervention could prevent development of persistent symptoms.

Methods

WISE is a multi-site, two-arm randomized controlled efficacy trial. Adult hematological cancer patients scheduled for a hematopoietic stem cell transplant will complete baseline measures and then, after hospitalization but prior to transplant, they will be randomized to complete either expressive helping or a time and attention “neutral writing” task. Both expressive helping and neutral writing involve four brief writing sessions, beginning immediately after randomization and ending approximately 4 weeks after hospital discharge. Measures of symptom burden (primary outcome), distress, health-related quality of life, and fatigue (secondary outcomes) will be administered in seven assessments coinciding with medically relevant time points from baseline and to a year post-intervention.

Discussion

The steady and continuing increase in use of stem cell transplantation has created growing need for efficacious, accessible interventions to reduce the short- and long-term negative physical and psychosocial effects of this challenging but potentially life-saving treatment. Expressive helping is a psychological intervention that was designed to fill this gap. It has been shown to be efficacious in long-term transplant survivors but could have even greater impact if it is capable of reducing symptoms during and soon after transplant. The WISE study will evaluate these benefits in a rigorous randomized controlled trial.

Trial registration

Clinicaltrial.govNCT03800758. Registered January 11, 2019

The Finding My Way UK Clinical Trial: Adaptation Report and Protocol for a Replication Randomized Controlled Efficacy Trial of a Web-Based Psychological Program to Support Cancer Survivors

BACKGROUND

Cancer survivors frequently report a range of unmet psychological and supportive care needs; these often continue after treatment has finished and are predictive of psychological distress and poor health-related quality of life. Web-based interventions demonstrate good efficacy in addressing these concerns and are more accessible than face-to-face interventions. Finding My Way (FMW) is a web-based, psycho-educational, and cognitive behavioral therapy intervention for cancer survivors developed in Australia. Previous trials have demonstrated that FMW is acceptable, highly adhered to, and effective in reducing the impact of distress on quality of life while leading to cost savings through health resource use reduction.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to adapt the Australian FMW website for a UK cancer care context and then undertake a single-blinded, randomized controlled trial of FMW UK against a treatment-as-usual waitlist control.

METHODS

To an extent, our trial design replicates the existing Australian randomized controlled trial of FMW. Following a comprehensive adaptation of the web resource, we will recruit 294 participants (147 per study arm) from across clinical sites in North West England and North Wales. Participants will have been diagnosed with cancer of any type in the last 6 months, have received anticancer treatment with curative intent, be aged ≥16 years, be proficient in English, and have access to the internet and an active email address. Participants will be identified and recruited through the National Institute for Health Research clinical research network. Measures of distress, quality of life, and health economic outcomes will be collected using a self-report web-based questionnaire at baseline, midtreatment, posttreatment, and both 3- and 6-month follow-up. Quantitative data will be analyzed using intention-to-treat mixed model repeated measures analysis. Embedded semistructured qualitative interviews will probe engagement with, and experiences of using, FMW UK and suggestions for future improvements.

RESULTS

The website adaptation work was completed in January 2021. A panel of cancer survivors and health care professionals provided feedback on the test version of FMW UK. Feedback was positive overall, although minor updates were made to website navigation, inclusivity, terminology, and the wording of the Improving Communication and Sexuality and Intimacy content. Recruitment for the clinical trial commenced in April 2021. We aim to report on findings from mid-2023.

CONCLUSIONS

Replication studies are an important aspect of the scientific process, particularly in psychological and clinical trial literature, especially in different geographical settings. Before replicating the FMW trial in the UK setting, content updating was required. If FMW UK now replicates Australian findings, we will have identified a novel and cost-effective method of psychosocial care delivery for cancer survivors in the United Kingdom.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number (ISRCTN) 14317248; https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN14317248.

INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID)

DERR1-10.2196/31976.

The Fort McMurray Mommy Baby Study: A Protocol to Reduce Maternal Stress Due to the 2016 Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo, Alberta, Canada Wildfire

Introduction: Data show that maternal stress triggered by exposure to a natural disaster before, during or just after pregnancy is associated with adverse pregnancy and newborn outcomes. In this paper, the first aim is to describe our efforts to test a simple, low-cost intervention to large numbers of women following a major natural disaster. The second aim is to outline the challenges faced and lessons learned during the execution of this natural disaster study. Methods: The setting was the May 2016 Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo wildfire in northern Alberta, Canada. Women who were pregnant or preconception at the time of the disaster were invited to participate via social media. This prospective cohort study included a randomized controlled trial to test the effectiveness of an expressive writing intervention on the levels of prenatal maternal stress and maternal, birth, and early childhood outcomes. At recruitment and at multiple timepoints postpartum, a battery of questionnaires was administered to evaluate objective and subjective stress exposure to the fire as well as maternal mental health, resilience and its contributing factors as well as infant developmental milestones. Qualitative content analysis of the expressive writing was conducted. Discussion: There is an increasing need to develop effective, wide-spread, rapid, and low-cost interventions to reduce prenatal maternal stress, increase resilience, and improve pregnancy outcomes following a natural disaster. Though analysis of data is ongoing, we highlight the strengths of this study which include strong community participation, rapid recruitment of eligible participants, low-cost intervention and data acquisition, and successful testing of the intervention. We acknowledge the challenges we encountered including the high rate of participant disqualifications or losses due to incomplete collection of online data; evacuation, dispersal, and inconsistent return to homes; and the high levels of stress accumulated post-disaster which led to inability to complete the study. Despite potential challenges, there remains a need for such research amid natural disasters.

Feasibility and effect of a guided self-disclosure intervention designed to facilitate benefit finding in breast cancer patients: A pilot study

PURPOSE

This pilot study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and effect of a guided self-disclosure intervention (GSDI) promoting benefit finding (BF) for breast cancer patients.

METHODS

A total of 40 women with breast cancer were randomized either to a GSDI group, which included a 6-session face-to-face self-disclosure intervention, or to a control group. The Benefit Finding Scale (BFS) was used to measure BF, the Distress Disclosure Index (DDI) was used to measure self-disclosure, and the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) was used to measure cognitive reappraisal. The outcomes were evaluated at baseline and the 3rd and 6th months.

RESULTS

The GSDI group had more satisfaction (t = 2.35, P = .02) than the control group and had significant group effects of higher BF (t = 2.214, P = .03) and a lower avoidance of the IES-R (t = -2.353, P = .024) at the 3rd month. There was a significant difference of BF (t = 2.036, P = .049) between the two groups at the 6th month, and other outcomes were not significant (P > .05). Intention-to treat (ITT) analysis showed significant time effects for all outcomes (P < .05); there were slightly significant time × group effects for BF (F = 4.15, P = .052) and disclosure (F = 2.719, P = .090). There were no time × group effects for the other outcomes (all P > .05).

CONCLUSION

This study suggests that the GSDI intervention may be feasible in the clinic and might improve BF for breast cancer patients. However, future research needs to further refine the intervention and expand the sample to carry out a full-scale randomized controlled trial.

Linguistic Markers of the Emotion Elaboration Surrounding the Confinement Period in the Italian Epicenter of COVID-19 Outbreak

The expressive writing method has rarely been proposed in contexts of large-scale upheavals that affect large populations. In this study this method was applied as an intervention and tool of investigation during the confinement period in the Lombardy region, the Italian Epicenter of COVID-19 outbreak. Sixty-four participants took part in an online expressive writing project, and a total of 167 writings were collected together with some self-report evaluations on emotions and physical sensations. A linguistic analysis through two different sets of computerized linguistic measures was conducted on the collected writings in order to study the linguistic markers of emotion regulation and elaboration. Results indicated that online expressive writing has helped respondents to get more in touch with the intense emotions that were experienced following the upheavals they witnessed. Writing even only once or twice helped, particularly those respondents who had at least one COVID-19 patient among close friends or relatives. Their writings showed an intense emotional involvement together with the ability to reflect and reorganize the personal meaning of the events and emotions experienced. This study shows that expressive writing can be used in the context of a psychological emergency, both as a powerful instrument to investigate and detect the complex psychodynamic processes underpinning the distress, and as a useful intervention to reduce the negative impact of traumatic events.

Difficulties in identifying and describing feelings, social constraints, affect, and functional well-being among Chinese breast cancer patients: A mediation model

PURPOSE

Functional well-being (i.e., individuals' functioning in daily living activities and social roles; FWB) is often an understudied aspect of quality of life among breast cancer patients (BCP). Previous research has suggested that patients' emotional experience is associated with their FWB. However, little is known about how intrapersonal and interpersonal barriers of emotional processing and expression (i.e., social constraints, difficulties in identifying and expressing emotions) associated with FWB among Chinese BCP, plus how positive/negative affect might explain such associations.

METHOD

Chinese BCP (N = 327) in Weifang, Shandong province, China completed a cross-sectional survey. The Functional Well-Being subscale from the Chinese version of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast (FACT-B), the Social Constraints Scale, the Difficulty in Identifying Feelings (DIF; 7 items) and the Difficulty in Describing Feelings (DDF; 5 items) subscales from the Toronto Alexithymia Scale and the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Schedule were used as assessment scales.

RESULTS

Path analyses results supported the proposed mediation model with satisfactory fit indices (χ²(5) = 5.12, p = .40, CFI = 1.00; IFI = 1.00; RMSEA = 0.01). Specifically, difficulty in describing emotions was associated with poorer functional well-being through increased negative affect (β = -0.06, 95%CI = -0.10, -0.03); difficulty in identifying emotions was associated with poorer functional well-being through reduced positive affect (β = -0.04, 95%CI = -0.09, -0.003). Social constraints were associated with poorer functional well-being through both increased negative affect and decreased positive affect (β = -0.16, 95%CI = -0.22, -0.10). After considering the mediators, difficulties in describing emotions still contributed significantly to functional well-being (β = -0.20, 95%CI = -0.31, -0.08). Our results indicated that positive/negative affect could mediate between barriers of emotional processing/expression and FWB.

CONCLUSIONS

This study was unique in revealing how intrapersonal and interpersonal barriers of emotional processing and expression could be associated with Chinese BCPs' FWB through varied mechanisms. Practitioners should consider strategies to reduce those barriers through interventions.

Effect of prolonged expressive writing on health outcomes in breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy: a multicenter randomized controlled trial

PURPOSE

This study aims to evaluate the effects of prolonged expressive writing on health outcomes in breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy to help understand how the dosage of an expressive writing intervention might moderate its effects.

METHODS

A total of 112 breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy were randomly allocated to the expressive writing group (n = 56) or the prolonged expressive writing group (n = 56). The expressive writing group received the standard expressive writing intervention based on Pennebaker's prompt to write for at least 20 min over four consecutive days (4 sessions). The prolonged expressive writing group used a modified prompt: write for at least 20 min 3 times a week over a 4-week period (12 sessions); patients could choose whether to write on consecutive days or not. All participants were required to write about their stressor-related upsetting or traumatic feelings about breast cancer. Outcomes were assessed and compared at baseline, as well as 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months postintervention.

RESULTS

There was no significant difference in the patients' quality of life, or physical and psychological wellbeing between the expressive writing group and the prolonged expressive writing group at any time point (all p > .05). The quality of life of breast cancer patients significantly decreased in the two groups over time (F = 40.64, p < .001).

CONCLUSION

Our findings suggest that the writing dosage does not moderate the effects of expressive writing on breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ChiCTR1800016278.

Effects of expressive writing intervention for women's PTSD, depression, anxiety and stress related to pregnancy: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Expressive writing (EW) is a common psychological intervention that aims to improve the mental health of traumatized individuals. Pregnancy is considered an anxious or traumatic experience for some women, and any crisis in relation to pregnancy is closely associated with their psychological well-being. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety and stress are the most prominent emotional and psychological responses that may occur during the process. However, the effects of EW in mediating women's PTSD, depression, anxiety and stress related to pregnancy remain uncertain, and no qualified meta-analysis has assessed such effects. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of EW as a psychological intervention for women. Five databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane, Web of Science and PsycINFO, were searched from inception to September 2019 for eligible studies. Finally, a total of 929 participants from 8 randomized controlled trial (RCT) studies were included. A pooled analysis demonstrated that EW was an efficient therapy for decreasing PTSD. However, the results showed that the EW intervention was not associated with the expected effects on anxiety and stress symptoms. The efficacy of EW for depression was inconclusive. More RCTs are necessary to verify the effectiveness of EW for depression. Studies concentrating on EW's effects on physical symptoms are necessary, and researchers should create an EW intervention group, neutral writing group and no writing group to examine the true effects of EW. Future research should examine whether longer, more frequent, and more targeted writing interventions would result in different conclusions.

Do negative intrusive thoughts at diagnosis predict impaired quality of life, depressed mood and waking up with anxiety 3, 12 and 24 months after radical prostatectomy? - a longitudinal study

Objective: To evaluate the effect of intrusive thoughts at diagnosis on quality of life, depressed mood and waking up with anxiety up to two years after radical prostatectomy.Method: The Laparoscopic Prostatectomy Robot Open (LAPPRO) trial was a prospective, longitudinal multicenter study of 4003 patients undergoing radical prostatectomy. Questionnaire data were collected preoperatively, at 3, 12 and 24 months after surgery.Results: The group of patients with intrusive thoughts at diagnosis had a statistically significant higher postoperative prevalence of impaired quality of life, depressed mood and waking up with anxiety as compared with the group of patients with no or minor intrusive thoughts. The highest risk increase for impaired QoL, depressed mood and waking up with anxiety ≥1/week was at 12, 3 and 3 months, respectively, where the three outcomes increased by 38% (RR: 1.38; 95%CI: 1.27-1.49)), 136% (RR: 2.36; 95%CI: 1.74-3.19)) and 165% (RR: 2.65; 95%CI: 2.22-3.17)), respectively.Conclusions: The demonstrated link between intrusive thoughts and quality of life, depressed mood and waking up with anxiety deliver is further evidence to the idea that intrusive thoughts has potential as an endpoint for assessing and predicting psychological distress among men with prostate cancer diagnosis.Trial registration number: ISRCTN06393679 (www.isrctn.com). Date of registration: 07/02/2008. Retrospectively registered.

Expressive Writing Intervention Improves Quality of Life Among Chinese-American Breast Cancer Survivors: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background

Expressive writing interventions are shown to confer health benefits for Caucasian cancer survivors. However, few studies reported improved quality of life or studied ethnic minorities.

Purpose

The study evaluated whether a culturally sensitive expressive writing intervention improved quality of life.

Methods

Chinese-speaking breast cancer survivors (n = 136) in the USA were randomly assigned to one of three conditions to write three 30-min weekly essays: a cancer-fact condition to write about facts relevant to the cancer experience for three weeks; a self-regulation condition to write about deepest feelings at week 1, stress and coping at week 2, and finding benefits at week 3; or an enhanced self-regulation condition to write about stress and coping at week 1, deepest feelings at week 2, and finding benefits at week 3. Quality of life was assessed by Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy at baseline, 1-, 3-, and 6-month follow-ups.

Results

Growth curve models showed that quality of life was increased in the sample from baseline to the 6-month follow-up. The enhanced self-regulation condition had a large and statistically significant effect (d = 0.90, 95% CI [0.02, 1.687]), and the self-regulation condition had a small effect (d = 0.22, 95% CI [-0.79, 1.07]) on quality of life improvement compared with the cancer-fact group.

Conclusion

Expressive writing is shown to be an effective intervention to improve quality of life for Chinese-American cancer survivors. Future efforts are warranted to disseminate and implement this low-dose and brief intervention in community and clinical settings.

Clinical Trial Registration

NCT02946619.

Emotional disclosure as a therapeutic intervention in palliative care: a scoping review protocol

INTRODUCTION

Emotional disclosure (ED) is a term used to describe the therapeutic expression of emotion. ED underlies a variety of therapies aimed at improving well-being for various populations, including people with palliative-stage disease and their family carers. Systematic reviews of ED-based psychotherapy have largely focused on expressive writing as a way of generating ED. However, heterogeneity in intervention format and outcome measures has made it difficult to analyse efficacy. There is also debate about the mechanisms proposed to explain the potential effects of ED.We present a scoping review protocol to develop a taxonomy of ED-based interventions to identify and categorise the spectrum of interventions that could be classified under the umbrella term of 'emotional disclosure' in the palliative care setting. By mapping these to associated treatment objectives, outcome measures and explanatory frameworks, the review will inform future efforts to design and evaluate ED-based therapies in this population.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

The review will be guided by Arksey and O'Malley's five-stage scoping review framework and Levac's extension. The following electronic databases will be searched from database inception: CENTRAL, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), PsycINFO, Scopus, Web of Science and MEDLINE. We will include peer-reviewed studies and reviews. We will also check grey literature, including clinical trial registers, conference proceedings and reference lists, as well as contacting researchers. Articles will be screened by at least two independent reviewers and data charted using an extraction form developed for this review. Results will be analysed thematically to create a taxonomy of interventions, outcome measures and theoretical frameworks.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

This review does not require ethical approval as it is a secondary analysis of pre-existing, published data. The results will inform future research in the development of ED-based interventions and evaluation of their efficacy in the palliative care setting. We will disseminate findings through peer-reviewed journals.

Expressive writing as a therapeutic intervention for people with advanced disease: a systematic review

Background

Expressive writing involves writing about stressful or traumatic experiences. Despite trials in people with advanced disease, no systematic review to date has critiqued the evidence on expressive writing in this population. To synthesise the evidence of the effects of expressive writing on pain, sleep, depression and anxiety in people with advanced disease.

Methods

A systematic review according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. CINAHL, CENTRAL, PsycINFO and PubMed were searched from January 1986 to March 2018. Other sources included clinical data registers and conference proceedings. Studies were included if they were randomised controlled trials that assessed the impact of an intervention involving expressive writing for adults with advanced disease and/or studies involving linguistic analysis on the expressive writing output. Methodological quality was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool and the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation tool was used to assess the level of evidence for the outcomes of interest. The protocol of this systematic review has been registered on PROSPERO (CRD42017058193).

Results

Six eligible studies with a total of 288 participants were identified, including four randomised controlled trials. All of the trials were in cancer and recruited predominantly women. None of the interventions were tailored to the population. Studies had methodological shortcomings and evidence was generally of low quality. Combined analysis of the four trials, involving 214 participants in total, showed no clear difference in the effect of expressive writing on sleep, anxiety or depression compared to an active control. Pain was not evaluated in the trials. In contrast, analysis of the four studies that included linguistic analysis alluded to linguistic mechanisms for potential effects.

Conclusion

Although the trial results suggest there is no benefit in expressive writing for people with advanced disease, the current evidence is limited. There is a need for more rigorous trials. It would be of benefit first to undertake exploratory research in trial design including how best to measure impact and in tailoring of the intervention to address the specific needs of people with advanced disease.

Trial registration

The protocol of this systematic review has been registered on PROSPERO, which can be accessed here (registration number: CRD42017058193).

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12904-019-0449-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The impact of an expressive writing intervention on quality of life among Chinese breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy

BACKGROUND

Expressive writing interventions are shown to confer physical and psychological benefits for Caucasian cancer survivors. This study evaluated the health benefits of an expressive writing intervention among breast cancer patients in mainland China.

METHODS

Stage I-III Chinese breast cancer survivors undergoing chemotherapy were recruited in Shanghai, China. They (n = 90) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: a positive thinking group (PTC) to write about the positive aspects of their cancer experience; a self-regulation condition (SRC) to write about their stress and coping efforts, deepest feelings, and positive aspects of their cancer experience; or a cancer-fact group (CFC) to write about facts relevant to their cancer experience. All groups wrote for 30 min every week for 4 weeks. Quality of life (QOL) was assessed using the FACT-B at baseline and 1- and 2-month follow-ups. Linear mixed effects models were used to test the hypotheses that the SRC and PTC would improve QOL compared to the CFC.

RESULTS

QOL improved overtime in the whole sample. Contrary to hypotheses, the CFC had increased QOL compared with the SRC from baseline to both the 1- and 2-month follow-ups (ΔQOL = 9.31, p = 0.01, d = 0.44; ΔQOL = 9.45, p = 0.025, d = 0.49). The PTC did not differ from cancer-fact writing but had increased QOL compared with the SRC from baseline to both the 1- and 2-month follow-ups (ΔQOL = 7.44, p = 0.04, d = 0.35; ΔQOL = 11.72, p = 0.06, d = 0.61).

CONCLUSION

Interventions through expressive writing about positive experience and cancer facts are feasible and can benefit Chinese cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.

A pilot randomised controlled trial of a home-based writing intervention for individuals with seizures

OBJECTIVE

We investigated the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary effectiveness of a writing intervention for individuals with epilepsy or psychogenic nonepileptic seizures.

METHODS

Individuals were randomised to write about potentially 'therapeutic' topics (n = 43) or about their daily events (n = 25). Participants were asked to write on four separate occasions for at least 20 min. Repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to investigate change in measures of health-related quality of life (NEWQoL-6D), depression (NDDI-E), anxiety (GAD-7) and illness perception (B-IPQ) from baseline to one and three-month follow-ups. Qualitative and quantitative data taken from a Writing Task Questionnaire was analysed between the two conditions.

RESULTS

Recruitment was acceptable with 52% of those randomised completing the full writing intervention. In both conditions, participants wrote for longer than 20 min suggesting those who completed the study engaged well with the procedure. Greater benefits were observed in the 'therapeutic' condition (p < 0.05), which was associated with an improvement in health-related quality of life at one-month follow-up (p = 0.02). No differences were found in the other measures.

CONCLUSIONS

A writing intervention is acceptable in this population. Self-reported benefits were modest, suggesting therapeutic writing may be more suitable as a supplement to other therapies rather than a stand-alone therapeutic intervention.

Start making sense: Art informing health psychology

Growing evidence suggests that the arts may be useful in health care and in the training of health care professionals. Four art genres - novels, films, paintings and music - are examined for their potential contribution to enhancing patient health and/or making better health care providers. Based on a narrative literature review, we examine the effects of passive (e.g. reading, watching, viewing and listening) and active (e.g. writing, producing, painting and performing) exposure to the four art genres, by both patients and health care providers. Overall, an emerging body of empirical evidence indicates positive effects on psychological and physiological outcome measures in patients and some benefits to medical training. Expressive writing/emotional disclosure, psychoneuroimmunology, Theory of Mind and the Common Sense Model of Self-Regulation are considered as possible theoretical frameworks to help incorporate art genres as sources of inspiration for the further development of health psychology research and clinical applications.

Expressive writing intervention and self-reported physical health out-comes - Results from a nationwide randomized controlled trial with breast cancer patients

The objective was to examine the effect of Expressive Writing Intervention (EWI) on self-reported physical symptoms and healthcare utilization in a nationwide randomized controlled trial with Danish women treated for primary breast cancer, and to explore participant characteristics related to emotion regulation as possible moderators of the effect. Women who had recently completed treatment for primary breast cancer (n = 507) were randomly assigned to three 20 min. home-based writing exercises, one week apart, focusing on emotional disclosure (EWI) of a distressing experience (their cancer or a non-cancer topic) or a non-disclosing topic (control). Outcomes were self-reported physical symptoms and healthcare utilization (visits and telephone contacts with GP) 3 and 9 months post-intervention. Potential moderators were repressive coping, alexithymia, rumination, social constraints, and writing topic. Results revealed no group by time interaction effects for any outcomes. Moderation analyses showed that 1) low alexithymic women in the EWI group showed larger decreases in GP telephone calls over time than both high alexithymic women and controls and 2) women in the EWI group writing about their own cancer, but not women writing about other topics, showed a larger decrease than controls. The results from this large randomized trial are concordant with previous findings showing that EWI is unlikely to be a generally applicable intervention to improve health-related outcomes in cancer patients and cancer survivors. However, written disclosure might have a beneficial impact for individuals who write about their own cancer, as well as for those low in alexithymia.

Review of systematic reviews of non-pharmacological interventions to improve quality of life in cancer survivors

OBJECTIVES

Over two million people in the UK are living with and beyond cancer. A third report diminished quality of life.

DESIGN

A review of published systematic reviews to identify effective non-pharmacological interventions to improve the quality of life of cancer survivors.

DATA SOURCES

Databases searched until May 2017 included PubMed, Cochrane Central, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Web of Science, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and PsycINFO.

STUDY SELECTION

Published systematic reviews of randomised trials of non-pharmacological interventions for people living with and beyond cancer were included; included reviews targeted patients aged over 18. All participants had already received a cancer diagnosis. Interventions located in any healthcare setting, home or online were included. Reviews of alternative therapies or those non-English reports were excluded. Two researchers independently assessed titles, abstracts and the full text of papers, and independently extracted the data.

OUTCOMES

The primary outcome of interest was any measure of global (overall) quality of life.

ANALYTICAL METHODS

Quality assessment assessing methdological quality of systematic reviews (AMSTAR) and narrative synthesis, evaluating effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions and their components.

RESULTS

Of 14 430 unique titles, 21 were included in the review of reviews. There was little overlap in the primary papers across these reviews. Thirteen reviews covered mixed tumour groups, seven focused on breast cancer and one focused on prostate cancer. Face-to-face interventions were often combined with online, telephone and paper-based reading materials. Interventions included physical, psychological or behavioural, multidimensional rehabilitation and online approaches. Yoga specifically, physical exercise more generally, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) programmes showed benefit in terms of quality of life.

CONCLUSIONS

Exercise-based interventions were effective in the short (less than 3-8 months) and long term. CBT and MBSR also showed benefits, especially in the short term. The evidence for multidisciplinary, online and educational interventions was equivocal.

A randomized controlled trial of expressive writing in breast cancer survivors with lymphedema

OBJECTIVE

Breast cancer survivors who develop lymphedema report poorer quality of life (QoL) than those without lymphedema. Expressive writing is a potential intervention to address QoL.

DESIGN

Adult women (N = 107) with breast cancer and chronic Stage II lymphedema were randomised to writing about thoughts and feelings specific to lymphedema and its treatment (intervention) or about daily activities (control) for four, 20-min sessions.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Outcome measures were several indicators of QoL assessed at baseline, one, three, and six months post-intervention (total scores and subscales of Upper Limb Lymphedema 27 and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast). Hypothesised moderators of change in QoL were dispositional optimism, avoidant behaviours, and time since lymphedema diagnosis.

RESULTS

There was no statistically significant intent-to-treat main effects of expressive writing on QoL. Statistically significant moderating effects on change in different indicators of QoL were observed for all three moderators. Expressive writing was more effective for improving QoL in women who were higher on optimism, lower on avoidance and had less time since a lymphedema diagnosis.

CONCLUSION

These results provide further evidence that there are subsets of individuals for whom expressive writing is more effective. Future research may investigate targeting expressive writing based on identified moderators.

The effect of expressive writing intervention for infertile couples: a randomized controlled trial

STUDY QUESTION

Is expressive writing intervention (EWI) efficacious in reducing distress and improving pregnancy rates for couples going through ART treatment?

SUMMARY ANSWER

Compared to controls, EWI statistically significantly reduced depressive symptoms but not anxiety and infertility-related distress.

WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY

ART treatment is considered stressful. So far, various psychological interventions have been tested for their potential in reducing infertility-related distress and the results are generally positive. It remains unclear whether EWI, a brief and potentially cost-effective intervention, could be advantageous.

STUDY DESIGN SIZE, DURATION

Between November 2010 and July 2012, a total of 295 participants (163 women, 132 men) were randomly allocated to EWI or a neutral writing control group.

PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS

Participants were couples undergoing IVF/ICSI treatment. Single women and couples with Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis or acute change of procedure from insemination to IVF, were excluded. EWI participants participated in three 20-min home-based writing exercises focusing on emotional disclosure in relation to infertility/fertility treatment (two sessions) and benefit finding (one session). Controls wrote non-emotionally in three 20-min sessions about their daily activities. The participants completed questionnaires at the beginning of treatment (t1), prior to the pregnancy test (t2), and 3 months later (t3). In total, 26.8% (79/295) were lost to follow-up. Mixed linear models were chosen to compare the two groups over time for psychological outcomes (depression, anxiety and infertility-related distress), and a Chi² test was employed in order to examine group differences in pregnancy rates MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE: One hundred and fifty-three participants received EWI (women = 83; men = 70) and 142 participants were allocated to the neutral writing control group (women = 83; men = 62). Both women and partners in the EWI group exhibited greater reductions in depressive symptoms compared with controls (P = 0.049; [CI 95%: -0.04; -0.01] Cohen's d = 0.27). The effect of EWI on anxiety did not reach statistical significance. Overall infertility-related distress increased marginally for the partners in the EWI group compared to the partners in the control group (P = 0.06; Cohen's d = 0.17). However, in relation to the personal subdomain, the increase was statistically significant (P = 0.01; Cohen's d = 0.24). EWI had no statistically significant effect on pregnancy rates with 42/83 (50.6%) achieving pregnancy in the EWI group compared with 40/80 (49.4%) in the control group (RR = 0.99 [CI 95% = 0.725, 1.341]; P = 0.94).

LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION

The results for depressive symptoms corresponded to a small effect size and the remaining results failed to reach statistical significance. This could be due to sample characteristics leading to a possible floor-effect, as we did not exclude participants with low levels of emotional distress at baseline. Furthermore, men showed increased infertility-related distress over time.

WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS

EWI is a potentially cost-effective and easy to implement home-based intervention, and even small effects may be relevant. When faced with infertility, EWI could thus be a relevant tool for alleviating depressive symptoms by allowing the expression of feelings about infertility that may be perceived as socially unacceptable. However, the implications do not seem to be applicable for men, who presented with increased infertility-related distress over time.

STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTERESTS

The present study was supported by research grants from Merck Sharpe and Dohme and The Danish Agency for Science Technology and Innovation as part of a publicly funded PhD. The funding bodies had no influence on the data collection, analysis or conclusions of the study. None of the authors have any conflicts of interest to declare.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

Clinicaltrials.gov, trial no. NCT01187095.

TRIAL REGISTRATION DATE

7th September 2010 DATE OF FIRST PATIENT'S ENROLMENT: 23rd November 2010.

Promoting post-traumatic growth in cancer patients: A study protocol for a randomized controlled trial of guided written disclosure

This multicenter study investigates the efficacy of the guided disclosure protocol in promoting post-traumatic growth, through meaning reconstruction, in cancer patients after adjuvant chemotherapy. Participants will be randomized to guided disclosure protocol or to an active control condition. Both conditions consist of three 20-minute writing sessions. Experimental participants verbalize emotions, describe events, and reflect on trauma effects. Control participants write about their past week’s daily routine. Patients, blinded to treatment assignment, will complete questionnaires at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and 6-month follow-up. This study will improve knowledge concerning the effects of writing interventions on psychological health and well-being in cancer patients.

The effect of expressive writing intervention on psychological and physical health outcomes in cancer patients--a systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of expressive writing intervention (EWI) for improving psychological and physical health in cancer patients and survivors.

METHODS

We searched databases and existing reviews for randomized controlled studies published between 1986 and 2014 that evaluated the effects of EWI on psychological and physical health outcomes. We computed and combined effect sizes and examined the role of methodological characteristics.

RESULTS

From 223 unique citations, we identified 16 independent randomized controlled trials published from 1999 to 2014, examining the effect of EWI on a range of psychological and physical health outcomes. No statistically significant effects were found for any of the individual or combined psychological (Hedges's g: 0.04; 95% CI, -0.06 to 0.14; p = 0.42), physical (0.08; 95% CI, -0.05 to 0.20; p = 0.22), or quality-of-life outcomes (0.09; 95% CI, -0.05 to 0.24; p = 0.22). The results were unaffected by differences in study characteristics, for example, type of control condition, study setting, cancer type, and overall study quality ratings. Results from a subset of studies indicated a possible moderating effect of social constraints, suggesting that participants experiencing low levels of emotional support may be more likely to benefit from EWI.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results do not support the general effectiveness of EWI in cancer patients and survivors. However, given the practical and inexpensive intervention, it is possible that even small effects in subgroups of patients could be clinically relevant, and future studies are recommended to test the effects of potential moderators, including pre-intervention distress levels and context-dependent factors such as emotional support.