Dr. Badr's long-term goal is to develop a multi-method research program to study psychological, social, and physical functioning in couples coping with cancer. The K07 award will enable Dr. Badr to take the necessary first steps toward this goal by providing training in the design and implementation of couples' interaction protocols, coding techniques, and the analysis of dyadic data. Specifically, the training plan includes: (1) formal course work; (2) regular mentoring from sponsors and collaborators; (3) participation in seminars and national conferences; (4) tutorials by experts; (5) mentored research; and (6) clinical practice. The combination of Dr. Badr's post-doctoral training, the expertise of her mentoring team, and the research environment of M. D. Anderson will facilitate the successful implementation of the proposed study. This research plan is devoted to the implementation of an independent project that integrates the marital and psycho-oncology literatures to study the effects of spousal communication on cognitive processing, relationship satisfaction, and quality of life (QOL) in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) and their spouses.
Specific aims are to: (1) examine associations between couples' communication styles (e.g., patient and partner disclosure, patient and partner holding back of cancer-related concerns, partner positive and negative affective responses to patient disclosure) and patient and partner cognitive processing, using self report and observational methods; (2) examine associations between couples' communication styles (e.g., patient and partner disclosure, patient and partner holding back of cancer-related concerns, partner positive and negative affective responses to patient disclosure) at the initiation of treatment and patient and spouse psychological functioning (e.g., distress) and general QOL 4 months after treatment, using self-report and observational methods; and, (3) to examine associations between patient symptom distress, patient disclosure, and patient cognitive processing over the course of radiation treatment for HNC. This application addresses the National Cancer Institute's continuing commitment to developing initiatives to understand the impact of cancer on the family, and is unique in its multi-method approach. Collectively, the outcomes of this study will allow us to identify adaptive and maladaptive spousal interaction patterns in HNC, providing potential targets for future psychosocial interventions for patients with HNC and their partners.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Type
Academic/Teacher Award (ATA) (K07)
Project #
1K07CA124668-01A2
Application #
7469759
Study Section
Subcommittee G - Education (NCI)
Program Officer
Silkensen, Shannon M
Project Start
2008-09-01
Project End
2009-05-31
Budget Start
2008-09-01
Budget End
2009-05-31
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2008
Total Cost
$93,616
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Department
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
800772139
City
Houston
State
TX
Country
United States
Zip Code
77030
Badr, Hoda (2016) Psychosocial Interventions for Patients With Advanced Cancer and Their Families. Am J Lifestyle Med 10:53-63
Badr, Hoda; Milbury, Kathrin; Majeed, Nadia et al. (2016) Natural language use and couples' adjustment to head and neck cancer. Health Psychol 35:1069-80
Badr, Hoda; Carmack, Cindy L; Diefenbach, Michael A (2015) Psychosocial interventions for patients and caregivers in the age of new communication technologies: opportunities and challenges in cancer care. J Health Commun 20:328-42
Badr, Hoda; Yeung, Chi; Lewis, Megan A et al. (2015) An observational study of social control, mood, and self-efficacy in couples during treatment for head and neck cancer. Psychol Health 30:783-802
Badr, Hoda; Gupta, Vishal; Sikora, Andrew et al. (2014) Psychological distress in patients and caregivers over the course of radiotherapy for head and neck cancer. Oral Oncol 50:1005-11
Shen, Megan Johnson; Redd, William H; Winkel, Gary et al. (2014) Associations among pain, pain attitudes, and pain behaviors in patients with metastatic breast cancer. J Behav Med 37:595-606
Badr, Hoda; Krebs, Paul (2013) A systematic review and meta-analysis of psychosocial interventions for couples coping with cancer. Psychooncology 22:1688-704
Milbury, Kathrin; Rosenthal, David I; El-Naggar, Adel et al. (2013) An exploratory study of the informational and psychosocial needs of patients with human papillomavirus-associated oropharyngeal cancer. Oral Oncol 49:1067-71
Gorin, Sherri Sheinfeld; Badr, Hoda; Krebs, Paul et al. (2012) Multilevel interventions and racial/ethnic health disparities. J Natl Cancer Inst Monogr 2012:100-11
Milbury, Kathrin; Badr, Hoda; Carmack, Cindy L (2012) The role of blame in the psychosocial adjustment of couples coping with lung cancer. Ann Behav Med 44:331-40

Showing the most recent 10 out of 15 publications