Treating Insomnia in Primary Brain Cancer
Abstract
This study is called Treating Insomnia in Primary Brain Cancer and addresses the FY22 PRCRP Topic Area of brain cancer. Insomnia is a pattern of sleep problems that involves difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, and/or waking up too early. As a result, people with insomnia are sleepy during the day, can have difficulty paying attention, focusing on tasks, or recalling events, and can develop irritability, depression, or anxiety. Insomnia is an extremely common complaint among people with brain cancer. Further, rates of insomnia among Service Members is significantly higher than in the general population and individuals with a history of military service are at elevated risk for brain cancer compared to other occupations. Unfortunately, the front-line treatment recommended for insomnia, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I), has not been thoroughly tested in the population of active-duty Service Members, their Families, Veterans, or the American public with brain cancer and insomnia. Our goal is to build upon our previous research, which was the first study to examine CBT-I in brain cancer and produced encouraging results. Now we want to test CBT-I compared to a control group so that we can better understand the degree to which this program is effective for individuals with brain cancer, above and beyond routine care. Insomnia has the potential to affect those with brain cancer at any stage in their illness trajectory from diagnosis to survivorship; thus, this proposal is strongly aligned with the PRCRP goal of improving quality of life by decreasing the impact of cancer on active-duty Service Members, their Families, Veterans, and the American public. This research has the potential to help individuals with brain cancer and insomnia nationwide because we will use a CBT-I intervention delivered via telehealth. The results of this project will help determine whether CBT-I is feasible, acceptable, and effective for individuals with brain cancer. If effective, CBT-I could be implemented as the front-line treatment for insomnia in neuro-oncology military and civilian clinics instead of sleep medication, which has potentially harmful side effects. This proposal addresses the Overarching Challenge of Behavioral Science – develop strategies to address quality of life, overall mental health, and psychological impact of symptom management. Insomnia is a mental health diagnosis in and of itself but is also associated with other psychological concerns including anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, substance abuse, and suicidality. Thus, treating insomnia in patients with brain cancer has the potential to impact a wide range of mental health and quality of life concerns – those particularly relevant to the military population and its beneficiaries. Thus, this proposal addresses the FY22 Military Health Focus Area of gaps in quality of life and/or survivorship that may impact mission readiness and the health and well-being of military members, Veterans, their beneficiaries, and the general public .
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jan 04, 2024
- Source ID
- HT94252310742
Entities
People
- Ashlee R Loughan
Organizations
- United States Army
- Virginia Commonwealth University