The relationship between cancer survivors’ well-being and participation in work, activities of daily living and social engagement: Findings from the European Social Survey (2014)

A Psychometric Validation of the Impact on Participation and Autonomy Questionnaire in a Sample of Turkish Cancer Survivors

Community participation and autonomy are two of the vital treatments and rehabilitation outcomes for people with chronic health conditions and disabilities, including people with cancer. The purpose of this study is to investigate psychometric properties of the Impact on Participation and Autonomy Scale (IPA) in a sample of Turkish cancer survivors. An exploratory factor analysis was used to analyze data collected from 186 cancer survivors who completed the IPA, Health Care Climate Questionnaire, Satisfaction with Life Scale, and the Role Functioning subscale of the EORTC Core Quality of Life Questionnaire. In contrast to the original five-factor solution, the results provided a better fit for a three-factor correlated model ( Activities of Daily Living [ADL]/ Instrumental ADL, social relations, and employment and education). The IPA factors were significantly associated with supportive healthcare climate, role functioning, and life satisfaction in the theoretically expected directions, providing support for the nomological construct validity of the Turkish version of the IPA. Overall, the Turkish version of the IPA is a psychometrically sound measure of participation and autonomy that can be used to assess cancer survivors’ levels of community participation for treatment planning and selection of evidence-based healthcare and psychosocial interventions for cancer survivors.

The role of social networks in the self-management support for young women recently diagnosed with breast cancer

It is widely acknowledged that social network support plays an important role in the quality of life and illness management of breast cancer survivors. However, the factors and processes that enable and sustain such support are less well understood. This paper reports baseline findings from a prospective UK national cohort of 1,202 women with breast cancer (aged <50 years at diagnosis), recruited before starting treatment, conducted in 2016-2019. Descriptive, univariate and multivariate regression analyses explored associations between the individual, and network member characteristics, and the type of support provided. Social network members provided a substantial level of illness-related, practical and emotional support. Highest contribution was provided by friends, followed by close family members. The social network members of women who did not have a partner provided a higher level of support than those in networks with a partner. Women without higher education were more reliant on close family members than those with higher education, and this was more so for women without a partner. Women with higher education without a partner were more reliant on friends and were overall best supported. Women without higher education who did not have a partner were overall least well supported. They had much smaller networks, were highly reliant on close family members, and on high level contributions from all network members. There is a need to develop network-based interventions to support people with a cancer diagnosis, prioritising support for the groups identified as most at risk. Interventions that support engagement with existing network members during treatment, and those that help extend such networks after treatment, are likely to be of benefit. A network perspective can help to develop tailored support and interventions by recognising the interactions between network and individual level processes.

Increasing occupational participation: A qualitative analysis within the “Occupational Self-Analysis” program

Introduction:

Occupational participation is a key element to increase the quality of life in the population. One of the effective interventions to increase occupational participation is the “Occupational Self-Analysis” program. The aim of this study was to analyze participant’s reported benefits about the “Occupational Self-Analysis” program.

Method:

This is a qualitative study with 26 participants (12 people with intellectual disability, 7 affected by acquired brain injury, and 7 students) who participated in weekly group sessions and one individual session. The outcomes were measured based on participant diaries and focus group transcriptions.

Results:

Two main themes emerged: (1) supports for occupational participation and (2) barriers for occupational participation. The thematic analysis of the categories was based on the Model of Human Occupation to increase applicability of the program in occupational therapy practice.

Conclusions:

The “Occupational Self-Analysis” program allowed participants to increase their knowledge of supports provided for and the barriers against occupational participation.

Depressive symptoms among cancer patients: Variation by gender, cancer type, and social engagement

Prior literature has documented an association between cancer and depressive symptoms. There has been a limited understanding about whether the association between cancer and depressive symptoms varies by gender and whether social engagement moderates this association. Using seven waves of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing (N = 10,055), we examine the association between cancer and depressive symptoms among middle- and older-aged adults in Korea. We conduct fixed-effects regression models to account for unobserved characteristics of individuals that may confound this association. We first investigate whether the association between cancer and depressive symptom differs by gender. We distinguish among cancer types to assess potentially distinctive mental health consequences of different types of cancer. Then, we explore whether social engagement moderates the cancer-depressive symptoms association. Naive OLS models yielded significant associations between cancer and depressive symptoms for both men and women. However, our preferred fixed effects estimates revealed that the association was statistically significant only for men, and not for women. This association was especially pronounced for lung cancer. We also found that one's level of social engagement including informal connections and formal social activities moderates the link between cancer and depressive symptoms. Cancer is not only a leading cause of death, but also a serious threat to one's mental health. This study sheds light on gender differences in psychological reactions to cancer among Korean adults. Findings of this study hold important implications for programs aiming to improve the mental health and quality of life of cancer patients.