The Effect of Emotional Disclosure Interventions on Psychological and Physical Well-Being of Breast Cancer Patients
Abstract
Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women in the United States and thus it is important to study the psychosocial impact of treating this disease. A large body of literature supports the health benefits associated with both written and oral disclosure of emotional traumas in healthy populations. The proposed research is a controlled, randomized trial to test the effectiveness of two types of emotional disclosure interventions. One hundred fifty early stage, breast cancer patients will be randomly assigned to one of three conditions: cancer-specific disclosure, non-cancer related disclosure, or a control. During the intervention, participants will write on three occasions about either their deepest thoughts and feelings about their cancer diagnosis and treatment, their deepest thoughts and feelings about a non-cancer related traumatic event, or a superificial topic. Currently, 73 breast cancer patients are enrolled in the study. Measures of physical and emotional well-being are collected via telephone at baseline, one month, and six months following the intervention. A one year no-cost extension has been requested and approved to enroll more participants. The results from this study have important implications for psychosocial care of breast cancer patients and may inform future interventions for improving women's health.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 2001
- Accession Number
- ADA398253
Entities
People
- Elizabeth Fries
- Melissa Figueiredo
Organizations
- Virginia Commonwealth University