Cancer is greatly feared, difficult and complex to manage, and costly--both emotionally and financially. An estimated 7.1 million Americans have been diagnosed with cancer in the past 20 years and have had to face coping with the disease, its treatment, and living with its aftermath. Advances in cancer treatment have brought psychosocial challenges for patients such as increased involvement in treatment decisions, coping with side effects, and living as cancer survivors. Accordingly, more attention is currently paid to the quality of life of individuals with cancer. The rapid growth of inquiry in this area makes the systematic review of this research important and timely. The proposed project aims to address key questions regarding psychosocial interventions for cancer patients using systematic and meta-analytic review techniques. These techniques are useful in making sense of accumulated study findings and in identifying remaining research questions. The specific goals are (1) to elucidate the mechanisms by which psychosocial interventions for cancer patients may foster improvements in quality of life; (2) to determine the effects of specific treatment ingredients comprising interventions for individuals coping with cancer; (3) to clarify mixed results regarding the effects of psychosocial interventions on length of survival in individuals with cancer; (4) to determine if previously-documented benefits of psychosocial interventions tested in randomized (efficacy) trials hold for non-randomized (effectiveness) trials delivered in community settings; and (5) to identify which populations and types of interventions have been thoroughly studied and which have been overlooked. A thorough survey of the published and unpublished literature will be undertaken. A number of different channels will be used to ensure an exhaustive search. Each eligible study will be coded with respect to a number of features related to: the setting of the study, participants, methodology, and characteristics of the intervention. Coding procedures will be rigorously developed and maintained to maximize validity and reliability. Study outcomes will be expressed in terms of effect sizes, a standardized metric that allows aggregation of the magnitude and direction of results across studies. Where appropriate, moderator analyses of the influence of study level variables on outcomes will be performed. Integration and reevaluation of this work will help us to understand how psychosocial interventions work and how they can be improved.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01CA100810-02
Application #
6862705
Study Section
Behavioral Medicine, Interventions and Outcomes Study Section (BMIO)
Program Officer
Jeffery, Diana D
Project Start
2004-03-01
Project End
2007-02-28
Budget Start
2005-03-01
Budget End
2006-02-28
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2005
Total Cost
$135,450
Indirect Cost
Name
State University New York Stony Brook
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
804878247
City
Stony Brook
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
11794
Moyer, Anne; Goldenberg, Matthew; Hall, Matthew A et al. (2012) Mediators of change in psychosocial interventions for cancer patients: a systematic review. Behav Med 38:90-114
Schneider, Stefan; Moyer, Anne; Knapp-Oliver, Sarah et al. (2010) Pre-intervention distress moderates the efficacy of psychosocial treatment for cancer patients: a meta-analysis. J Behav Med 33:1-14
Moyer, Anne; Schneider, Stefan; Knapp-Oliver, Sarah K et al. (2010) Published versus unpublished dissertations in psycho-oncology intervention research. Psychooncology 19:313-7
Hamilton, Jada G; Lobel, Marci; Moyer, Anne (2009) Emotional distress following genetic testing for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer: a meta-analytic review. Health Psychol 28:510-8
Moyer, Anne; Knapp-Oliver, Sarah K; Sohl, Stephanie J et al. (2009) Lessons to be learned from 25 years of research investigating psychosocial interventions for cancer patients. Cancer J 15:345-51
Moyer, Anne; Sohl, Stephanie J; Knapp-Oliver, Sarah K et al. (2009) Characteristics and methodological quality of 25 years of research investigating psychosocial interventions for cancer patients. Cancer Treat Rev 35:475-84
Floyd, Anna; Moyer, Anne (2009) Group vs. individual exercise interventions for women with breast cancer: a meta-analysis. Health Psychol Rev 4:22-41
Sohl, Stephanie J; Moyer, Anne (2007) Tailored interventions to promote mammography screening: a meta-analytic review. Prev Med 45:252-61
Killoran, Moira; Moyer, Anne (2006) Surgical treatment preferences in Chinese-American women with early-stage breast cancer. Psychooncology 15:969-84