Development of a Psychoeducational Intervention for Men with Prostate Cancer

Abstract

This study aimed to develop and implement a nurse-led psychoeducational group program for men receiving radiotherapy for prostate cancer. These groups are part of a larger multidisciplinary care intervention, which is designed to enhance patient involvement in care. The manual for the groups was developed using a literature review and expert opinion from a multidisciplinary team consisting of radiation oncologists, urology nurses, behavioral scientists, psychologists, radiation therapists, and consumers. The group was pilot tested with 10 participants and further refined based on patient and facilitator feedback. The final program consisted of four, 1-hour, psychoeducational group sessions, with modules covering anatomy, treatment side effects, physical/lifestyle/ emotional impacts of prostate cancer, sexuality and communication, and survivorship delivered at pretreatment, midtreatment, end of treatment, and posttreatment. The modular design of this intervention is innovative in that men in the group can collectively nominate which modules they wish to focus on. Feedback from patients and facilitators was positive with minimal changes made to the manual, apart from session 4 that required expansion to permit group members to have greater choice over the content. Participants endorsed the psychoeducational groups as being useful, an appropriate length, and addressing their issues of concern. Further testing of the psychoeducational groups is currently being undertaken as part of a larger randomized controlled trial of the multidisciplinary care intervention.

Development of an Educational Intervention Focused on Sexuality for Women with Gynecological Cancer

“…Pilot testing of the developed intervention consisted of a mixed quantitative and qualitative methodology as advocated by best practice guidelines sourced in the literature (Boonzaier et al, 2009;Campbell et al, 2007;Fonteyn & Wu, 2005;Hearn, Lawler, & Dowsell, 2003;Van Hecke et al, 2011). For the purpose of the pilot test the researcher was the only interventionist.…”

Eficacia de las intervenciones psicológicas en hombres con cáncer de próstata

“…Existen numerosos estudios que muestran que el diagnóstico de cáncer de prós-tata produce importantes problemas psicosociales (24)(25)(26)(27) que afectan a la familia, al funcionamiento personal y al bienestar fí-sico-psicológico (28) , llegando incluso a disminuir la calidad de vida (29) . Los hombres que padecen esta enfermedad, y que se someten a estos tratamientos, experimentan una serie de eventos estresantes que dejan al hombre en un riesgo potencial de desajuste emocional.…”

“…Se ha visto que los pacientes con baja autoestima, baja autoeficacia y un alto nivel de síntomas depresivos, son los pacientes que más se benefician de este tipo de intervenciones. Los resultados indican que los grupos en los que, además de informar o educar, se exponen temas de discusión que preocupan a los pacientes, presentan mejora en los conocimientos de la enfermedad y conductas saludables, en la calidad de vida, en el estado emocional, en la sexualidad, la autoeficacia, y la autoestima, siendo consideradas por los pacientes como útiles y necesarias (27,90,91) .…”

A randomised, wait‐list controlled trial: evaluation of a cognitive–behavioural group intervention on psycho‐sexual adjustment for men with localised prostate cancer

“…Although the efficacy of psychological group‐based interventions for cancer patients is well documented , there are only three group‐based publications addressing the sexual and psychological needs of prostate cancer patients .…”