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World J Clin Oncol. Feb 24, 2019; 10(2): 62-66
Published online Feb 24, 2019. doi: 10.5306/wjco.v10.i2.62
Rational-emotive behavioral intervention helped patients with cancer and their caregivers to manage psychological distress and anxiety symptoms
Chiedu Eseadi
Chiedu Eseadi, Department of Educational Foundations, Faculty of Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka 410001, Nigeria
Author contributions: The author was solely responsible for the conception and design of the study, literature review and analysis, drafting, critical revision and editing, and final approval of the final version.
Supported by no dedicated funding.
Conflict-of-interest statement: No potential conflicts of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Chiedu Eseadi, Lecturer, Department of Educational Foundations, Faculty of Education, University of Nigeria, Room 213, Harden Building, Nsukka 410001, Nigeria. chiedu.eseadi@unn.edu.ng
Telephone: +234-813-7258914
Received: October 5, 2018
Peer-review started: October 6, 2018
First decision: November 1, 2018
Revised: November 10, 2018
Accepted: January 5, 2019
Article in press: January 6, 2019
Published online: February 24, 2019
Processing time: 141 Days and 17.2 Hours
Abstract

There is a dearth of evidence-based data on how psychological distress and death anxiety symptoms experienced by cancer patients and caregivers are treated in developing regions. This article sheds light on the report of the findings from a 2016 study that revealed a rational-emotive behavioral intervention helped a select group of cancer patients and their family caregivers to manage problematic assumptions, psychological distress, and death anxiety symptoms in Nigeria. Based on my experience as a co-investigator and corresponding author of this previous study, I addressed the challenges of conducting such a study and the implications for future research in this article. This article encourages future researchers to replicate the study and endeavor to overcome the limitations of the previous study. Funders were also encouraged to ensure increased access to funds for conducting similar studies with cancer patients and their family caregivers in developing countries and other parts of the world.

Keywords: Cancer patients; Caregivers; Death anxiety; Psychological distress; Psychological intervention; Rational-emotive behavioral intervention; Rational-emotive hospice care therapy

Core tip: Emerging evidence seems to be boosting our understanding of how psychological interventions can be adapted to help improve the lives of cancer patients and their caregivers. This article reveals the importance of utilizing rational-emotive behavioral intervention to alleviate psychological distress and death anxiety symptoms experienced by cancer patients and their caregivers based on the outcomes from a 2016 study. The practical implications and future directions for clinicians who might want to use rational-emotive behavioral therapy intervention to improve the psychological health of cancer patients and caregivers were highlighted. Funders were also encouraged to ensure increased access to funds to enable researchers to conduct similar studies.