The “Promoting Resilience in Stress Management” (PRISM) Intervention for Adolescents and Young Adults: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial (TH320A)

Abstract

Objectives Describe a novel, brief, age-appropriate, skillsbased psychosocial intervention designed to build resilience resources among Adolescents and Young Adults (AYAs) with serious illness. Describe the results of a pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of the PRISM intervention among AYAs with cancer.

Hope-related goal cognitions and daily experiences of fatigue, pain, and functional concern among lung cancer patients

“…This study adds to observational research supporting patient hope as a useful explanatory variable in patient outcomes [23,20,38,25,28,29]. Interventions developed and tested in other cancer [39,40] and non-cancer populations [41] suggest hope can be increased. Research needs to determine whether such interventions can increase hope in lung cancer patients and whether changes in hope mediate important patient symptom and functional outcomes.…”

Use of The Term Resilience in Adult Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review of A Qualitative Study

“…Another coping strategy displayed was the concept of being "normal", with one patient stating "I think what I wanted to preserve was the absolute preciousness of normality" (19) . This was achieved through methods such as minimizing the impact of cancer (20) , avoiding conventional sick roles (14) , maintaining normal life (9), and coping through distractions, such as work (5,12) . Some patients sought to cope by actively changing one's mindset and lifestyle, with variations of this theme including being more flexible (16) , dealing with adversity (17) , embracing paradoxes (21) , existential meaning making through selection and optimization of goals (8) , finding ways to keep going (21) , and having a voice in treatment (13) .…”

“…Conversely, participants characterized as non-resilient were described as remarkable in their lack of social support (10) . Similarly, another patient described the support her family provided as "My family never left me alone … if it was not for them, I do not know what I would have done" (5) . The importance of supportive relationships was further shown in another study when women resilient to distress had stable, supportive families, while the sole participant with a lack of family support displayed distress (24) .…”

“…While some researchers use the term resilience to describe pre-existing personality traits, others regard it as a dynamic process of adaptation that develops over time, while a third perspective argues for resilience as a psychosocial outcome (1,4) . An integrated biopsychosocial approach to resilience harmonizes all these prior definitions by concept of resilience as the psychological equivalent of a somatic immune system, protecting against adversity through multi-level defence mechanisms (5) . Thus, while some resilience mechanisms may be innate/pre-existing, others may be developed through individual adaptation, or through external influences.…”

“…A diagnosis of cancer represents substantial adversity and is often associated with significant physical and emotional distress, at times resulting in mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety (1) . Resilience promoting interventions would seem advantageous for cancer patients but at present, evidence for such interventions is limited in the cancer setting, with individual results ranging from no statistically significant change in quality of life, to reduced distress and improved quality of life (5) . One reason for this may be a lack of consistency in how the term resilience is used and defined within the oncology setting.…”