Go deeply into the barriers and problems that long-term surviving breast cancer must face to continue with their lives and what are the demands they suggest to society.

Qualitative study of interpretive type with a socio-constructivist perspective within the framework of the DAMA Cohort. SITE: the work was carried out in Barcelona.

The design of the sample was theoretical, and the participants were segmented taking into account the socioeconomic level and whether or not they had suffered any relapse.

It was set up six discussion groups of 6 to 12 participants each. A thematic analysis of the literal transcription of the audio files of the focus groups was done.

It has been found that the consequences of suffering breast cancer are not the same for those women who are self-employed as for those who work for someone else. However, tasks that require physical effort are difficult to continue doing, but those that require concentration and more intellectual effort are also difficult to perform too. Also, a series of aspects have been identified that women believe should be improved in the Health System: the lack or type of information given by professionals, the economic limit of the Health System and its consequences, the lack of medical care when treating something not directly related to the tumour, lack of sensitivity by some professionals and difficulties in accessing social benefits.

The results show that the main demands by long-lived breast cancer survivors are: having a balance between breast cancer, working life and a more Comprehensive Health System.

Adjuvant endocrine therapy (AET) reduces breast cancer recurrence, but side effects and distress impact adherence. We co-designed an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) intervention to support medication decision-making and quality of life in women prescribed AET (ACTION). In a qualitative process evaluation nested in the pilot trial, we aimed to elicit participant experiences of receipt and therapists experience of delivery of ACTION to enhance our understanding of acceptability.

Remote semi-structured interviews were conducted with women with breast cancer who received ACTION (n = 20) and trial therapists (n = 3).

Interviews were guided by the Theoretical Framework of Acceptability (TFA). Rapid Assessment Procedure (RAP) sheets were completed after each interview to map responses onto TFA constructs, and sections of interviews were selectively transcribed. Individual RAP sheets were collated to identify key findings.

ACTION was generally liked, in particular, the group format (affective attitude). Participants and therapists felt ACTION was low effort, but therapists acknowledged the burden associated with trial procedures (burden). Participants generally felt able to engage with ACTION, and therapists felt they were able to deliver it (self-efficacy). The perceived effectiveness of ACTION on well-being was good, but was mixed for impact on treatment adherence (perceived effectiveness). Participants and therapists understood the aims of ACTION (coherence), and ACTION generally aligned with therapists' values (ethicality). Therapists questioned who would be most appropriate to deliver ACTION (opportunity costs).

ACTION was acceptable to women with breast cancer and trial therapists. Rapid qualitative analysis can facilitate efficient process evaluations in time- and resource-limited contexts.

To investigate the impact of personality trait clusters on the quality of life (QoL) of breast cancer survivors (BCS) during the first 18 months following diagnosis.

A cohort of 476 newly diagnosed breast cancer patients was recruited between January 2017 and August 2018 from a single academic hospital in Seoul, Korea. Five-factor models of personality traits were assessed at baseline. QoL evaluations were performed prior to surgery and up to 18 months post-surgery. K-means clustering analysis was employed to construct personality clusters. Long-term QoL trajectories in BCS were compared between clusters, adjusting for individual resilience. Furthermore, a polygenic risk score (PRS) for neuroticism was calculated, exploring its relationships with neuroticism and personality trait clusters identified in this study.

Cluster analysis suggested that a two-cluster model was more appropriate than a three-cluster model. The two clusters were characterized by (1) low neuroticism and high scores in the other four traits, and (2) high neuroticism and low scores in the other four traits. Patients in cluster 2 exhibited significantly lower baseline QoL scores compared to those in other clusters, from baseline through 18 months post-surgery. The PRS for neuroticism showed a significant association with neuroticism scores (p = 0.032) after adjusting for age and depression scores. No significant differences in PRS were observed between the clusters. Additionally, the PRS for neuroticism was not significantly associated with QoL.

Our findings underscore the influence of individual personality traits on long-term QoL in BCS. These results suggest the potential for targeted interventions to enhance long-term QoL based on personalized personality profiles.

An increasing number of breast cancer survivors are facing parenting concerns as they manage both the physical and psychological burdens of cancer while also fulfilling maternal responsibilities. The study aims to examine the status of parenting concerns for Chinese breast cancer mothers and explore factors influencing parenting concerns, focusing on relationships between illness perception, social support, family resilience, emotional distress, and parenting concerns.

A cross-sectional study involving 217 Chinese breast cancer mothers utilized the sociodemographic characteristics questionnaire, Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire, Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey, Family Resilience Questionnaire, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and Parenting Concerns Questionnaire. Data were analyzed with SPSS 27.0 and AMOS 26.0.

Parenting concerns (2.49 ± 0.75) showed a moderate level. Illness perception, emotional distress, and marital status positively affected parenting concerns (β = 0.159, P < 0.05; β = 0.227, P < 0.01; β = 0.233, P < 0.001). Social support, family resilience, and the age of the youngest child negatively affected parenting concerns (β =  - 0.319, P < 0.001; β =  - 0.195, P < 0.05; β =  - 0.099, P < 0.01). Illness perception indirectly affected parenting concerns via four pathways. Social support (β = 0.177, [0.091, 0.268]) and emotional distress (β = 0.142, [0.067, 0.224]) were independent partial mediators, while family resilience played a chain mediating role between illness perception and parenting concerns by integrating social support and/or emotional distress (β = 0.086, [0.020, 0.170]; β = 0.018, [0.005, 0.044]).

Intervention programs addressing these factors may alleviate parenting concerns. Health professionals should assist breast cancer mothers in enhancing social support, strengthening family resilience, managing emotional distress, and addressing negative illness perception to mitigate parenting concerns under illness-related stress.

Cancer is the second leading cause of death after cardiovascular diseases and is considered a debilitating and incurable condition. Following diagnosis, individuals often experience anxiety, depression, and diminished social energy. Therefore, identifying factors that influence the psychological state of these patients and intervening to improve their well-being is crucial.

This study aims to examine the relationship between illness perception and resilience in cancer patients visiting healthcare centers.

The study was conducted in a cross-sectional design, involving 262 cancer patients selected through stratified random sampling from two public and two private oncology treatment centers in Tabriz, Iran. Data were collected using a demographic checklist, the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), and the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R). Data analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics (V.20) at a significance level of 0.05. Statistical methods included descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, t-test, Pearson correlation, and multiple linear regression to examine relationships between demographic variables, illness perception, and resilience.

The majority of participants in the study were male (74%), married (72%), suffering from gastrointestinal cancers (62%), with an average age of 40.9 (SD: 11.9) years. The average overall resilience score was 60.1 (SD: 16.6). Pearson correlation results showed a significant positive correlation between overall resilience and the subscales of illness identity (r = 0.26, p < 0.001), consequences of illness (r = 0.20, p < 0.001), personal control (r = 0.47, p < 0.001), treatment control (r = 0.61, p < 0.001), and time line cyclical (r = 0.33, p < 0.001). Linear regression analysis revealed that illness Identity (B = 0.94, CI [0.43, 1.44], p < 0.001), personal control (B = 1.75, CI [1.30, 2.21], p < 0.001), treatment control (B = 2.37, CI [1.87, 2.88], p < 0.001), and time line cyclical (B = 0.30, CI [0.40, 1.01], p = 0.04) significantly predicted resilience.

The findings suggest that improving patients' understanding and control over their illness may enhance their psychological resilience. These results highlight the importance of patient education and psychological interventions in cancer care, aimed at strengthening personal control and resilience. Integrating these strategies into standard care has the potential to improve patients' ability to cope with the psychological challenges of cancer and ultimately lead to an enhanced quality of life.

Large social networks have been associated with better overall survival after a breast cancer diagnosis in some but not all study populations. This study evaluated associations of social support and religiosity/spirituality with survival among Black and White women with breast cancer of largely low socioeconomic status in the United States (US).

The study used data from the prospective Southern Community Cohort Study, which enrolled approximately 86,000 adults in the southeastern US during 2002-2009. A total of 1,347 Black and White women with incident breast cancer were identified in the cohort and followed through December 2020 for mortality via linkage with the National Death Index. Exposures of interest were social support and religiosity obtained via baseline questionnaire, including number of close friends/relatives who can provide instrumental and emotional support, and frequency of attendance at religious services. Multivariable Cox regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for all-cause mortality in association with social support and religiosity. The models were tested for proportional hazards assumption using Schoenfeld residuals.

Among the 1,347 women with breast cancer, 365 (27.1%) died during follow up. The participants were followed up for 17 years with a median follow-up time of 5 years. In all-cause mortality analyses, women who reported having 2 + relatives/friends for emotional support had a 20% reduced hazard of death compared to women with ≤ 1 relative/friend (HR = 0.80, 95% CI: 0.67-0.96) after adjusting for age at breast cancer diagnosis, race, time from cohort enrollment to diagnosis, income, education, marital status, insurance, and tumor hormone receptor status. Similarly, women reporting having 2 + people able to provide instrumental support (render assistance in an emergency or lend money) had a 25% (HR = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.59-0.95) reduced hazard of death compared to those who had ≤ 1. Frequent attendance at religious services/meetings was associated with reduced hazard of death compared to those who did not attend (HR = 0.60, CI: 0.41-0.89); addition of cancer stage in the models attenuated this association.

A large social support network and regular attendance at faith-based services were associated with better survival among women with breast cancer. This calls for incorporating appropriate interventions to cancer care such as social support groups to improve survival.

Infertility constitutes a leading reproductive health problem with profound psychosocial outcomes, including elevated depressive symptoms that compromise quality of life (QoL). While the literature has suggested social support as a protective psychological mechanism, its role in depressive symptoms and QoL among women with infertility remains underexplored. This study aimed to examine the moderating effect of perceived social support on the relationship between depressive symptoms and QoL among South Korean women experiencing infertility.

Utilizing a cross-sectional design, this study analyzed a secondary dataset comprising 186 South Korean women with infertility. Participants were asked to complete the online survey which included the following scales: The Korean adaptation of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), and the Fertility Quality of Life (FertiQoL) tool. Moderation analysis was conducted using Hayes' PROCESS Macro 4.1 Model 1. Statistically significant effects were identified if the confidence intervals did not include zero. Depression acted as the predictor, social support as the moderator, and QoL as the dependent variable.

Depressive symptoms exhibited a moderate negative relationship with fertility QoL (r = -.41, p < .001). When stratified by PHQ-9 severity, correlations between depressive symptoms, social support, and fertility QoL were only significant for the group with mild or no depressive symptoms. In this group, depressive symptoms negatively predicted fertility QoL (ß = -.92, p < .05), and a significant interaction effect between depressive symptom severity and social support on fertility QoL was observed (ß = -1.24, p < .05).

Perceived social support has a moderating effect on the relationship between depressive symptoms and fertility QoL only for women with mild or no depressive symptoms. Consequently, nursing interventions for South Korean women with infertility should focus on emotional and social support, which include enhancing individual coping skills and facilitating community-based support networks. These can be implemented through specialized educational initiatives and expert-moderated online forums, aiming to enhance the emotional well-being of women experiencing infertility.

Health-related quality of life is a multi-dimensional concept that involves individual's perceived physical and mental health, social relationships, and environment. Family members are the primary caregivers of people living with schizophrenia in China, the quality of life of caregiver of people living with schizophrenia is generally poorer, which may indirectly affect the quality of life of the people with schizophrenia.

We conducted a comprehensive survey on quality of life in caregivers of people living with schizophrenia based on the Schizophrenia-specific cohort in the Less-developed Multi-ethnic Region of Southwest China to validate the accessibility and effectiveness of the schizophrenia family care model at the family level, caregivers of people living with schizophrenia were selected as participants in Baoshan City, Yunnan Province from September 2022 to March 2023, quality of life, family burden of disease, sociodemographic and behavioral information of participants were collected.

Domain scores for physical, psychological, social relationships, and environment of quality of life were 13.50 ± 2.61, 12.67 ± 2.40, 13.64 ± 2.32, and 12.46 ± 1.76 respectively. In our study, we found that gender, age, education level, personal monthly income, history of smoking and alcohol consumption, subjective sleep quality, relation to the patient, degree of self-care and the number of relapses in patient all influence 1 to 4 domains of quality of life for caregivers, stratified analysis was conducted to minimize the effect of gender on the results, we still found that history of smoking could positively predict the score of psychological domain and history of alcohol consumption could positively predict the score of social relationships domain. Canonical correlation analysis showed that the 'impact on family interaction' in family burden of disease was most closely related to quality of life.

Building harmonious family relationships can help improve the quality of life for caregivers of People living with schizophrenia.

Resilience has been recognized as a vital protective factor in coping with stress and adversity. Multiple sclerosis (MS) caregiving is a complex and demanding role, often characterized by challenges.

Caregivers of people with MS were recruited through health care professionals affiliated with the Jacobs MS Center for Treatment and Research in Buffalo, New York. Resilience was assessed by the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-25) and the Health-Resilience-Stress Questionnaire (HRSQ). We examined the influence of personality traits (NEO Five-Factor Inventory-3), coping strategies (Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced Inventory), quality of life (Adult Carer Quality of Life Questionnaire), and caregiver burden (Zarit Burden Interview) on resilience.

In our study of 98 caregivers (70.4% men; average age, 60 years), 91.8% were partners of people with MS. Out of a maximum score of 100, CD-RISC-25 scores were an average (SD) of 75.5 (14.4) and HRSQ scores were an average of 74.8 (12.9). Quality of life was positively associated with both resilience measures (r = 0.60 for CD-RISC-25; r = 0.70 for HRSQ), whereas higher resilience was linked to lower caregiver burden (r = -0.40 for CD-RISC-25; r = -0.49 for HRSQ). CD-RISC-25 showed higher resilience negatively correlated with neuroticism (r = -0.65) and positively with extroversion (r = 0.57) and conscientiousness (r = 0.59). HRSQ also showed strong negative correlation with neuroticism (r = -0.76) and positive correlations with extroversion (r = 0.60), conscientiousness (r = 0.53), and agreeableness (r = 0.24).

Caregivers for people with MS showed relatively high resilience levels, positively correlating with quality of life and reduced caregiver burden. Furthermore, resilience correlated inversely with neuroticism and positively with extroversion and conscientiousness. Future research should target personalized interventions, particularly for caregivers with low resilience.

Chronic diseases pose significant threats to persons' well-being and mental health leading to stress, anxiety and depression without effective resilience strategies. However, experiences to gain resilience in living with chronic disease in the context of Asian countries remain insufficiently explored. This review seeks to provide a comprehensive summary of qualitative evidence that explores the lived experience that cultivates resilience in chronic diseases among adults within Asian countries.

A comprehensive review of five databases - Web of Sciences, Ebsco (Medline), PubMed, Science Direct, and Scopus was carried out, following the Joanna Brings Institute (JBI) standards and employing PRISMA Extension for Scoping Review (PRISMA-ScR) reporting guideline. The review encompassed studies published in English from January 2013 to December 2023. Four reviewers assessed the literature's eligibility and extracted relevant lived experiences to address the research question based on prior studies. Subsequently, a content analysis was performed.

Of the 3651 articles screened, 12 were included in this review. Three key themes emerged: (1) Sociocultural norms shaped resilience, delved into the culturally-mediated childhood development, traditional cultural beliefs, social relationships and supports and spirituality (2) Positive emotions nurtured resilience highlighted optimistic about becoming healthy, self-efficacy in self-care, endurance during hardship, self-reflection on health, acceptance of having disease, and appreciation of life while (3) Problem-solving strategies fostered resilience underlined improve disease literacy, ability to deal with disease challenges and engage in meaningful activities.

Our review addresses important research gaps on sociocultural norms that shaped resilience in chronic disease despite a small number of research. Therefore, this warrants further studies on how the traditional cultures and beliefs influence resilience among the Asian population living with chronic disease. Further research should thoroughly describe the qualitative methodologies and theoretical framework to provide more comprehensive information on the experience of resilience in chronic disease.

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is expected to witness a significant increase in the burden of cancer. Contrary to Western literature, the burden of psycho-oncology is yet to be established within the MENA region. This study reviews all available evidence characterizing the psychological burden among patients with cancer across the MENA region.

We systematically explored the PubMed/MEDLINE, Cochrane/CENTRAL, and Web of Science (WoS) databases for reports on the psychiatric burden among patients with cancer residing within the MENA region from January 2000 until January 2023. Raw proportion were extracted and analyzed using a random-effects model.

Eighty-three studies comprised of 16 810 participants, representing 14 countries, met our inclusion criteria. Across the MENA region, the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and distress were 44% (95% CI, 39%-50%), 47% (95% CI, 40%-54%), and 43% (95% CI, 30%-56%), respectively. Prevalence of depression was significantly different across countries, with Palestine (73%; 95% CI, 42%-91%) reporting the highest rate while Morocco (23%; 95% CI, 7%-56%) reported the lowest. Similarly, anxiety significantly differed across MENA nations ranging from 64% (95% CI, 3%-99%) in Morocco to 28% (95% CI, 18%-42%) in Tunisia. Rates of depression and anxiety were significantly different across measurement tools but not between Arabic-speaking versus Persian/Farsi-speaking countries. Meta-regression models showed that neither publication year nor age affected the prevalence of both anxiety and depression (P = .374 and .091 for depression and P = .627, and .546 for anxiety, respectively).

We report an abnormally high rate of psychiatric burden among patients with cancer in the MENA region. Thus, establishing appropriate psycho-oncologic interventions within the MENA region is of utmost importance.

Patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) have to cope with a multitude of treatment-related adverse effects that impact their quality of life (QoL) post-treatment completion. The presence of family resilience could potentially foster individual resilience and might contribute to patients' QoL. However, this interconnection has not been confirmed.

To explore the relationships between family resilience, individual resilience, and QoL in patients with HNC and to determine whether individual resilience in HNC patients functions as a mediator between family resilience and QoL.

From September 2022 to June 2023, a cross-sectional survey was conducted among 185 patients with HNC recruited through convenience sampling from a tertiary care hospital in Jiangsu Province, China. Self-report measures of family resilience, individual resilience, and QoL were assessed. Relationships were examined by Pearson's correlations. Structural equation models were used to assess whether individual resilience played a mediating role between family resilience and QoL.

There were significant positive correlations between QoL and both family resilience (r = 0.43, P < .01) and individual resilience (r = 0.59, P < .01). Moreover, family resilience had an indirect influence on QoL through its effect on individual resilience (β = 0.319, 95% CI: 0.336-0.815).

Family resilience emerges as a significant positive factor capable of enhancing QoL for patients with HNC by bolstering their resilience. To mitigate the detrimental effects of inadequate individual resilience on QoL of patients with HNC, it is advised to implement interventions focused on enhancing family resilience.

ChiCTR2300067612.

To the determinants and the underlying mechanism of health literacy, social support, and resilience on the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among older stroke survivors.

A cross-sectional design was applied at four comprehensive hospitals in Chongqing via convenience sampling from January 2020 to June 2021.

Health literacy, social support, and resilience were designed as independent variables, and HRQoL was measured as a dependent variable. Structural equation modelling with the bootstrap method was used to test the hypotheses.

The theoretically derived model exhibited a good fit (χ2/df ratio = 2.830, GFI = 0.987, CFI = 0.978, RMSEA = 0.066). Health literacy (β = 0.12, p < 0.05) and social support (β = 0.14, p < 0.05) directly affect HRQoL. Resilience (β = 0.40, p < 0.01) also mediated the relationship between health literacy, social support, and HRQoL. The three variables explaining 29.0% of HRQoL variance.

There was no direct patient or public involvement in the design, conduct, or reporting of this study. Participants were recruited through convenience sampling from four comprehensive hospitals in Chongqing, and their perspectives or contributions were not explicitly sought. The study focused on examining the determinants and underlying mechanism of health literacy, social support, and resilience on the health-related quality of life among older stroke survivors. Nonetheless, the findings of this research may inform the development of interventions aimed at improving the health-related quality of life in post-stroke older patients.

We intended to explore the chain mediation role of resilience and different sources of social support on the relationship between symptom interference and life satisfaction from the patient-reported perspective.

Two hundred and twenty-six patients after esophagectomy were investigated using four validated scales to estimate the symptom interference, resilience, different sources of social support, and life satisfaction. The chain mediation analysis was conducted using SPSS PROCESS Macro Model 6.

Mediation analysis showed that symptom interference indirectly influenced life satisfaction through two significant mediating pathways: (i) resilience (B = -0.138, 95% CI: -0.194 to -0.091); (ii) the chain mediators involving in resilience and family support (B = -0.049, 95% CI: -0.073 to -0.026). Surprisingly, the mediating pathway of family support was not significant.

Interventions for resilience and family support could mitigate the adverse effects of symptom interference in patients after esophagectomy, improving life satisfaction. Of these, resilience may be more critical in terms of the utilization of social resources than family support.

This study aimed to assess the influence of medical history, perceived physician-patient communication, and perceived social support on changes in the quality of life (QoL) during the first year of follow-up in patients undergoing surgery for endometrial cancer (EC), the most prevalent gynecological cancer in Western countries, especially in Central and Eastern Europe and North America.

This prospective longitudinal study included 98 EC patients. All participants completed the Short Form 36 (SF-36) and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) one month and one year after surgery. Additionally, one month after surgery, they responded to a questionnaire designed by the researchers concerning the key aspects of physician-patient communication.

Our findings revealed that patients reporting high social support one month after surgery demonstrated significantly improved emotional well-being (EWB) at both one month and one year after the surgery, with statistically significant higher scores in the dimension of EWB (p<0.05). The support from a significant other at one year correlates with greater PF (p<0.005), fewer limitations due to physical health (p<0.05), less pain (p<0.05), less fatigue (p<0.05), and better general and EWB (p<0.05).

This study underscores the significance of perceived social support for patients cross endometrial cancer. The multifaceted nature of social support, encompassing emotional assistance and information sharing, emerges as a pivotal factor aiding patients in confronting the challenges inherent to EC. This form of support contributes to bolstering psychological well-being and enhancing overall QoL.

Peer support has been suggested as a way to help women diagnosed with breast cancer to better cope with their situation, but studies on its effectiveness have conflicting results. This randomized controlled trial aimed to study the effectiveness of a one-to-one peer support intervention on psychological resilience, social support, and salivary cortisol among breast cancer patients.

The sample consisted of 121 newly diagnosed women at Onkologikoa Hospital. Patients who were prescribed chemotherapy were randomly assigned to Intervention Group 1 (IG1) or Control Group 1 (CG1). Similarly, those prescribed adjuvant radiotherapy were assigned to IG2 or CG2. Women in IG1 received 8 biweekly social support sessions from volunteer survivors who had successfully overcome breast cancer, while IG2 received 6 biweekly sessions. CG1 and CG2 only received standard care. Resilience, social support, and salivary cortisol were assessed at baseline (T1) and at the end of the intervention (T2).

We found a non-significant, yet a small to moderate size increase in resilience from T1 to T2 in IG1 (p = 0.246; dDc = 0.47). Upon regression analysis, we observed that this increase was determined by changes in cortisol (β = -0.658, p = 00.010), affective support (β = -0.997, p = 00.014), and emotional support (β = 0.935, p = 00.008). We also found a significant decrease in resilience levels in CG2 from T1 to T2 (p = 0.003; dDc = 0.88).

The present study suggests that peer support can exert a protective psychological influence on women diagnosed with breast cancer, and further indicates an exciting avenue for future intervention development in the breast cancer care continuum.

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05077371.

Aim: To explore the role of perceived social support in enhancing psychological resilience and quality of life in postoperative breast cancer patients.Materials & methods: The Managing Cancer and Living Meaningfully (CALM) intervention was used to improve indicators such as psychological resilience in breast cancer patients, while the role of perceived social support in this was assessed.Results: The intervention group exhibited significant improvements compared with the control group in psychological resilience (F = 9.059, p < 0.01). The analysis showed that increased social support in the control group partly mediated the link between psychological resilience and quality of life.Conclusion: CALM improves overall well-being, indicating that incorporating it into standard care for post-mastectomy patients can positively impact their mental health.

The beneficial effects of family resilience and meaning in life on patients are established, but limited is known for the effect of perceived social support. We aim to investigate the impact of family resilience on the meaning of life among Chinese patients with breast cancer (BC) and to further detect whether perceived social support mediated this association.

From February to June 2022, we conducted this cross-sectional study with 276 women who were diagnosed with BC in a tertial hospital in Guangdong province, China. The Chinese version of Meaning in Life Scale (C-MiLS) was used to measure the meaning in life. The Chinese version of the family resilience assessment scale (C-FRAS) and the perceived social support scale (PSSS) were adopted to obtain the family resilience and perceived social support, respectively. The mediating effect of perceived spousal support was estimated using the bootstrapped confidence interval (CI) via IBM SPSS AMOS 22.0.

The mean scores were 60.79 ± 11.63 for meaning in life, 82.08 ± 11.48 for family resilience, and 62.72 ± 12.19 for perceived social support, respectively. Our results indicated the positive correlations of meaning in life with family resilience (β = 0.822, P < 0.05) and perceived social support (β = 0.886, P < 0.05). The perceived social support exerted the mediating effect in the relationship between family resilience and meaning in life (β = 0.368 [95%CI, 0.274, 0.450], P < 0.001), accounting for 54.6% of the variance in meaning in life.

Our findings highlight that family resilience and perceived social support should be enhanced for BC patients to improve their meaning in life. In particular, the association between family resilience and meaning in life was positively mediated by perceived social support. Thus, interventions for improving family resilience and perceived social support might be useful in easing psychological distress and improving meaning in life in individuals with BC.

Oncological treatments lead to physical and emotional difficulties with notable consequences in everyday life. Thus, integrated interventions that can promote quality of life are needed. Since current studies suggest that integrated programs of both physical exercises and psychological sessions can promote positive emotions, this pilot study aims to explore the impact of a one-week intervention that combines sailing activities and psychological support.

Twenty-nine breast cancer survivors took part in this study. Before and after the intervention, participants were invited to answer three open questions to evaluate their perceptions of personal evaluations about their relationships and emotions. A Qualitative Thematic Analysis was used to evaluate participants' answers and to compare the sub-themes that emerged in the two times.

Findings highlighted three main themes: a) caregivers and emotional closeness - family members are generally a crucial point of reference for participants. Friends, colleagues, and healthcare professionals were also cited as relevant figures during the cancer journey and after the psychological intervention; b) emotions towards others - positive and negative emotions towards these figures emerged, and some women felt alone, and c) emotions towards oneself - exploring emotions related to themselves highlighted positive and negative feelings and the desire for change to promote love and care towards themselves. Interestingly, the number of negative emotions towards themselves decreased after the intervention.

The integrated intervention could promote the reflection on personal relationships and emotions.

Patients with chronic diseases may have some psychological problems due to their own or surrounding environmental factors, which can adversely affect the patient's illness and life. Given that the number of chronically ill patients in China is currently increasing every year, more research is needed to determine the best ways to manage changes in psychological status and psychological stress responses in chronically ill patients. The researchers constructed a mediated moderation model to explore the impact of stigma on the quality of life of chronically ill patients, as well as the mediating role of depression and the moderating role of psychological resilience.

A stratified sampling method was used to select 363 middle-aged and old-aged patients with chronic diseases aged 45 years and older from the Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University for the study. Data were collected from patients with chronic diseases such as cardiac, respiratory, renal, and other chronic diseases using the Cumulative Illness Rating Scale for Geriatrics (CIRS-G), the Stigma Scale for Patients with Chronic Diseases (SSCI), the Patient Health Questionaire-9 (PHQ-9), the Quality of Life Inventory (SF-12), and the Conner-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) were collected from patients with cardiac, respiratory, renal, and other chronic diseases. A descriptive analysis was used to describe the sample. Linear regression was used to evaluate the relationship between the variables. Mediation and moderation analyses were used to explore the mediating role of depression and the moderating role of psychological resilience.

There was a moderate negative correlation between stigma and quality of life (r = -0.378, P < 0.01). There was a moderate negative correlation between depression and quality of life (r = -0.497, P < 0.01). There was a moderately positive correlation between psychological resilience and quality of life (r = 0.382, P < 0.01). There was a moderate negative correlation between psychological resilience and depression (r = -0.348, P < 0.01). There was a weak negative correlation between psychological resilience and stigma (r = -0.166, P < 0.01). There was a strong positive correlation between stigma and depression (r = 0.607, P < 0.01) The mediation study showed that stigma was a significant predictor of quality of life and that stigma and quality of life were mediated to some extent by depression, with the mediating effect accounting for 67.55% of the total effect. The direct path from stigma to depression is moderated by psychological resilience (β = -0.0018, P < 0.01).

Depression mediates the relationship between stigma and quality of life, while psychological elasticity plays a moderating role between stigma and depression, and when the level of psychological elasticity increases, the more significant the role of stigma on depression. As a physiologically and psychologically vulnerable group, patients with chronic diseases' overall quality of life and mental health should be taken more seriously, and clinical workers should pay timely attention to the psychological and mental conditions of patients with chronic diseases and provide timely and appropriate interventions and therapeutic measures. The relevant results of this study also provide a new perspective for clinical work on psychological intervention for patients with chronic diseases.

To characterize patterns of psychological resilience in gastric cancer survivors using latent profile analyses and to explore the factors influencing these latent profiles based on Kumpfer's resilience framework.

Five hundred eighty-six gastric cancer survivors were recruited between July 30, 2021, and May 1, 2023. A demographic and clinical characteristics questionnaire, Connor and Davidson's Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), Fear of Progression Questionnaire Short Form (FoP-Q-SF), General Self-efficacy Scale (GSES), Medical Coping Modes Questionnaire (MCMQ), and Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS) were used for the investigation. Latent profile analysis of the resilience of gastric cancer survivors was conducted, and the factors influencing the latent profiles were explored by multivariate logistic regression analysis.

A total of 586 questionnaires were collected, and 572 were valid, with an effective recovery rate of 97.61%. The results of latent profile analysis showed that the resilience of gastric cancer survivors was divided into four subgroups, namely, the low-resilience group (18.4%), moderate-resilience group (43.2%), medium-high-resilience group (30.2%), and high-resilience group (8.2%). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that fear of disease progression, self-efficacy, medical coping mode and social support were influencing factors of subgroups.

Psychological resilience in gastric cancer survivors is individualized. Nurses should assess risk and protective factors for survivor resilience based on Kumpfer's resilience framework, identify unique needs, and develop new approaches and interventions.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that, so far, is considered always fatal. Treatments mainly consist in increasing survival and aim to improve the quality of life of people with ALS (pwALS). Social support and spirituality have been shown to play a key role in pwALS' quality of life. Our study explored it in depth by investigating the underlying mechanisms linking social support, spirituality, and emotional well-being.

Thirty-six pwALS underwent a battery of tests evaluating emotional well-being (emotional well-being scale of the 40-item Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Assessment Questionnaire), social support (6-item Social Support Questionnaire), and spiritual well-being (12-item Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy - Spiritual well-being). Our recruitment was web-based through the FILSLAN and the ARSLA websites as well as through Facebook® advertisements (ALS groups). Data were analyzed by Pearson correlation analysis and Process macro was used in an SPSS program to analyze the mediator variable effect.

Availability of social support, spiritual well-being, and 2 of its dimensions, i.e., meaning and peace, were positively correlated with emotional well-being. The mediational analyses showed that spiritual well-being, meaning, and peace act as mediators in the association between availability of social support and good emotional well-being.

Availability of social support and spirituality are essential for the emotional well-being of pwALS. Spirituality as a mediator between availability of social support and emotional well-being appears as real novel finding which could be explored further. Spiritual well-being, meaning, and peace appear as coping resources for pwALS. We provide practical guidance for professionals working with pwALS.

To describe and analyze the relationship between pregnancy-related anxiety, prenatal distress, and individual resilience in pregnant women during the first trimester of pregnancy and compare it with the obstetric variable of parity.

Quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional study using non-probabilistic circumstantial sampling. A total of 144 women participated. The Prenatal Distress Questionnaire, the Resilience Scale, and the Pregnancy-Related Anxiety Questionnaire were used. A descriptive analysis with measures of central tendency was performed, and the reliability of the instruments was assessed.

The average age was 33.57 years. 58.3% were multiparous and 41.7% primiparous. Anxiety was found in 21.5% and very high levels of resilience in 54.9%. Primiparous women showed higher levels of worry about the future and fear of childbirth than multiparous women. Pregnant women with high resilience showed lower levels of anxiety and stress.

Pregnant women with higher levels of resilience show less anxiety and stress during the first trimester of pregnancy. Primiparous women show more anxiety and stress than multiparous women.

Breast cancer (BC)-related sequelae drastically impact the psychophysical functioning and quality of life of affected women. Adapted physical activity (APA) has proved to effectively counteract these impairments in a non-medicalized framework. In particular, dragon boats are able to promote body functionality, social interaction, and quality of life in BC survivors, but the literature on specific motor gestures is scarce and practice is still based more on a re-educative perspective than a performative one. In this context, the present longitudinal study investigated the benefits of an adapted biofeedback-based sensorimotor training intervention on upper body functionality in a team of dragon ladies. The 8-week intervention was conceived as integrated dry workout sessions led by an APA kinesiologist and applied a novel sensorized proprioceptive device, such as a Libra board. Post-protocol evaluation revealed a significant improvement in bilateral upper limb mobility, core endurance, and trunk stability along with a distress decrease and quality of life enhancement through validated assessment tools. Our findings suggest that integrating biofeedback-based workout sessions can effectively promote upper body functionality in BC survivors practicing dragon boating. Furthermore, our innovative approach could help spread methodological hints able to boost exercise adherence in this target population, thus counteracting cancer recurrence while promoting overall well-being.

This study evaluated the association between social support during the re-entry period and long-term health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in breast cancer survivors using a longitudinal cohort study.

This is a prospective cohort study with 275 breast cancer survivors who reported HRQoL at 5 and 10 years after diagnosis. Social support for the re-entry period was measured 3 years after diagnosis using the Medical Outcome Study Social Support Survey (MOS-SSS). HRQoL was evaluated using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 (QLQ-C30) and Breast Cancer-Specific Module (BR-23). Multivariable linear regression analysis was performed to evaluate HRQoL at 5 and 10 years after diagnosis by level of social support during the re-entry period.

The mean (SD) of social support during re-entry period was 68.5. The low social support (LSS, score < 55) group during the re-entry period had a significantly lower HRQoL (mean difference =  - 12.93) compared to moderate or high social support (MHSS, score ≥ 55) group. 5 and 10 years after diagnosis, the LSS group continued to demonstrate lower HRQoL (5 years: - 7.17; 10 years: - 7.85) compared to the MHSS group. The LSS group were more likely to have lower role and social function scores, and higher fatigue, pain, and financial problems compared to the MHSS group at 10 years after diagnosis.

Breast cancer survivors who received lower social support during the re-entry period were more likely to experience poorer HRQoL in the long term than those who did not.

Most nurses working in intensive care units are unprepared to provide spiritual care to patients and they lack the competence and skills to provide spiritual care. Lack of moral evaluation of patients has negative effects on the patient. Spiritual care given to patients has effects on patient-nurse communication, general condition of the patient, and the quality of care.

This study was conducted to find out the spiritual care experiences of nurses working in intensive care units.

A qualitative descriptive design was used. The study was carried out with 14 nurses who were working in the intensive care units of a university hospital in eastern Turkey between May and July 2022. Two forms were created by the researcher according to the purpose of the study and the population. Inductive thematic analysis was used to evaluate the data. Ethics committee approval was obtained.

Ten of the nurses were women. Their ages were between 25 and 47 years, their working years ranged between 2 and 28 years, and their weekly working hours ranged between 40 to 56 hours. As a result of the thematic analysis, six themes and 18 sub-themes were determined: The themes determined are (1) Definition of spiritual care (2) Time of spiritual care, (3) Benefits of spiritual care, (4) Spiritual care practices, (5) Obstacles in providing spiritual care.

Providing spiritual care to patients in intensive care is a very important experience for nurses. Understanding spiritual care, recognizing its importance, and including it in nursing practice have a central significance.

Spiritual care provided in nursing profession is as important as physical care, and supporting patients in intensive care is at the heart of providing the best holistic care.

Cancer caregivers from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities have reported significant unmet emotional support needs. This study aimed explore the role of social support to manage emotional wellbeing among cancer caregivers from Arabic and Chinese communities in Australia.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with Chinese (n = 12) and Arabic (n = 12) speaking cancer caregivers. Participants' mean age was 40.6 years; majority were female (83%) and providing care to a parent (41.67%).

Using thematic analysis to analyse interview data, five overarching themes emerged describing caregivers' perspectives on social support. Themes were related to the following: (1) receiving emotional support from social networks, (2) barriers to accessing emotional support from social networks, (3) isolation and loss of connection following the cancer diagnosis, (4) faith as a source of support, and (5) utility of support groups and caregiver advocates. Several caregivers relied on social networks for emotional support; however, caregivers identified key cultural and generational barriers to seeking support from their social networks which prevented caregivers from disclosing their emotions and caregiving situation. Caregivers also reported being isolated from their support system.

Empirical testing of culturally appropriate strategies that improve social support seeking among caregivers from CALD communities is recommended.

The present study aimed to investigate the effect of resilience on sleep quality and explore the role of social support between resilience and sleep quality in cancer patients.

A multicenter and cross-sectional study was conducted in China from May to November 2021. A total of 202 cancer patients were recruited to complete the questionnaires composed of demographic information, Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Resilience Scale-14 (RS-14), and Multidimensions Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). The associations between resilience, social support, and sleep quality were explored through hierarchical regression analysis.

The prevalence of poor sleep quality was 50% among cancer patients. Resilience, social support, and the interaction between resilience and social support were all found to be significantly associated with sleep quality. Results of simple slope analysis indicated that the association between resilience and sleep quality were gradually decreased with the increasing social support levels (1 SD below the mean, B=-0.225, β=-0.551, P<0.001), mean social support (B=-0.147, β=-0.353, P<0.001) and high social support (1 SD above the mean, B=-0.065, β=-0.156, P<0.001). Additionally, social support mediated the effect of resilience on sleep quality among cancer patients.

Poor sleep quality has been common in cancer patients. Social support could mediate and alleviate the relationship between resilience and sleep quality among cancer patients. Besides providing sufficient social support, interventions based on resilience should be applied to address sleep problems in cancer patients.

Family caregivers (FCs) of a patient with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) can encounter unpredictable challenges and care demands. They can experience high levels of burden, a loss of self-care, and poor quality of life. Their receipt of social support and ability to communicate with clinicians may impact their burden. FCs would benefit from educational resources that teach them communication skills central to their ability to obtain the support they need-support that is imperative to reducing burden. To better target psychosocial educational interventions focused on social support and communication skills, we aimed to explore the relationship between social support, sources of support, and burden; the relationship between FCs' clinical communication and their perceptions of support and burden; and any unmet support needs. A total of 575 CLL FCs completed an online survey of validated scales about social support, burden, and clinical communication, as well as an open-ended item in which they reported any unmet support needs. Statistical analyses showed that FCs who perceived they were more supported reported less burden, and female FCs reported more burden than males. Support from family, friends, and professionals collectively contributed to FCs' support. FCs who perceived they had stronger communication skills with their loved one's clinicians reported more social support. FCs identified six areas of unmet support needs: financial, emotional, informational, instrumental, peer, and communication support. Collectively, findings show that increased social support can reduce FCs' burden and qualitative findings provide a roadmap of social support domains to target that could potentially improve the caregiving experience.

Dysphoria and despondency are prevalent psychological issues in patients undergoing Maintenance Hemodialysis (MHD) that significantly affect their quality of life (QOL). High levels of social support can significantly improve the physical and mental well-being of patients undergoing MHD. Currently, there is limited research on how social support mediates the relationship between dysphoria, despondency, and overall QOL in patients undergoing MHD. It is imperative to investigate this mediating effect to mitigate dysphoria and despondency in patients undergoing MHD, ultimately enhancing their overall QOL.

To investigate the mediating role of social support in relationships between dysphoria, despondency, and QOL among patients undergoing MHD.

Participants comprised 289 patients undergoing MHD, who were selected using a random sampling approach. The Social Support Rating Scale, Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, Self-Rating Depression Scale, and QOL Scale were administered. Correlation analysis was performed to examine the associations between social support, dysphoria, despondency, and QOL in patients undergoing MHD. To assess the mediating impact of social support on dysphoria, despondency, and QOL in patients undergoing MHD, a bootstrap method was applied.

Significant correlations among social support, dysphoria, despondency, and quality in patients undergoing MHD were observed (all P < 0.01). Dysphoria and despondency negatively correlated with social support and QOL (P < 0.01). Dysphoria and despondency had negative predictive impacts on the QOL of patients undergoing MHD (P < 0.05). The direct effect of dysphoria on QOL was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Social support mediated the relationship between dysphoria and QOL, and this mediating effect was significant (P < 0.05). Similarly, the direct effect of despondency on QOL was significant (P < 0.05). Moreover, social support played a mediating role between despondency and QOL, with a significant mediating effect (P < 0.05).

These findings suggest that social support plays a significant mediating role in the relationship between dysphoria, despondency, and QOL in patients undergoing MHD.

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) who receive social support can cope with the challenges. Therefore, this study determined the moderating role of social support in the relationship between death anxiety and resilience among dialysis patients in Qazvin City.

This cross-sectional study used a descriptive-analytical approach on 347 dialysis patients in Qazvin City. The data collection tools included several questionnaires. The convenience sampling method was employed. The data were analyzed using SPSS software version 22 and mplus software version 7.2, employing descriptive statistics, such as mean and standard deviation for continuous variables and using counts and percentages for categorical/nominal variables. Regression analysis and tests were used to examine the relationships between variables. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis was employed to determine direct and indirect relationships between independent and dependent variables.

The prevalence of death anxiety was high (48.3%) among the patients. The mean resilience score was 62.59 ± 15.69, and the mean social support score was 52.23 ± 10.21. There was a significant association between resilience and social support (P < 0.001), as well as between resilience and death anxiety (P < 0.001). Furthermore, a significant relationship was observed between social support and death anxiety (p = 0.015). In the analysis of SEM, both the direct and indirect relationships between resilience and death anxiety were significant through the mediating variable of social support.

This study demonstrates that there is a relationship between death anxiety and resilience, and social support significantly moderates the relationship between death anxiety and resilience.

The prevalence of suicide is high among major depressive adolescents. Poor sleep quality has been documented as a significant risk factor for suicide, influencing perceived social support. Enhanced social support acts as a buffer against suicidal ideation and positively impacts resilience, reducing the prevalence of suicidal ideation. This reciprocal relationship between sleep quality, social support and resilience forms the basis for understanding the mechanisms contributing to suicidal ideation in major depressive adolescents.

A total of 585 major depressive adolescents aged 11 to 24 years was conducted to explore these associations. Assessments included the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale and Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation. Pearson correlation and Model 6 in the SPSS program were employed for chain mediating tests.

Better sleep quality positively predicted decreased suicide ideation (β = 0.207, p < 0.01) and predicted lower perceived social support (β = -0.226, p < 0.01) and resilience (β = -0.355, p < 0.01). Perceived social support positively predicted increased resilience (β = 0.422, p < 0.01) and negatively predicted suicide ideation (β = -0.288, p < 0.01). Resilience negatively predicted suicide ideation (β = -0.187, p < 0.01). Sleep quality indirectly predicted suicide ideation through perceived social support and resilience, with a mediation value of 0.0678 (95% CI [0.0359, 0.1060]), constituting 10.65% of the total effect.

This study establishes that sleep quality indirectly predicts suicide ideation in major depressive adolescents, mediated independently by perceived social support and resilience.

Breast cancer is the most challenging disease, and the level of resilience in patients determines their ability to cope with the arising stress. There is relatively limited information on the resilience of patients in clinical settings. Our study aims were to evaluate the extent of resilience and identify factors that predict resilience in women with breast cancer.

A cross-sectional study was conducted with the participation of 218 women with breast cancer who were referred to the Oncology clinic in 2022. The participants completed three scales, namely the Conner-Davidson Resilience, Schneider's Life Expectancy, and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, along with sociodemographic information. Descriptive statistics, bivariate, and multiple linear regression were used to explore the predictors of resilience.

The mean (SD) scores for resilience, social support, and hope were 59.22 (17.25), 38.53 (6.19), and 59.37 (16.68), respectively. Based on analysis 50.8% of the variations in resilience could be explained by 6 variables including social support, hope, women's age, employment, and income status as well as the stage of illness (R 2adj = 0.508, P < 0.001). Employment status and disease stage did not show a significant relationship with resilience and social support was the factor with the highest impact on resilience (β = 0.516, P < 0.001).

Our study showed social support, hope, age, and income level predict significant resilience in women with breast cancer. The findings emphasize the importance of fostering strong support networks, cultivating a hopeful mindset, embracing life's transitions, and addressing financial considerations in the pursuit of enhanced resilience.

Various interventions appear to enhance cancer patients' resilience. However, the best intervention options are still unknown. This systematic review and network meta-analysis aimed to examine the impact of different interventions on resilience and identify the most effective interventions.

Nine major English and Chinese databases were systematically retrieved for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published from inception to 13 November 2023. The outcome was resilience. The analysis was conducted using Software Review Manager 5.4, R 4.2.3, and STATA 14.0.

The network meta-analysis included 32 RCTs and evaluated 12 interventions. Regarding effectiveness, compared to routine care, the relative effect sizes of attention and interpretation therapy, cyclic adjustment training, cognitive intervention, expressive therapy, positive psychological intervention, social support intervention, and work-environment therapy had statistically significant enhancing resilience, with the SMD (95%CI) of 1.42 (0.75, 2.07), 1.97 (0.76, 3.18), 1.26 (0.76, 1.77), 0.93 (0.08, 1.78), 1.02 (0.55, 1.50), 1.01 (0.48, 1.56), 1.65 (0.94, 2.37), respectively. Considering the rank probability, statistical power, and efficacy, the most effective interventions for improving resilience were attention and interpretation therapy, cognitive intervention, and positive psychological intervention. With the limited quantity of RCTs, the effectiveness of cyclic adjustment training and work-environment therapy still needs to be explored.

Attention and interpretation therapy was the first best choice for boosting resilience out of the 12 interventions. Cognitive intervention and positive psychological intervention were also better choices for improving cancer patients' resilience. Due to the low quality and quantity of included RCTs, the need for multi-center, higher-quality trials with larger samples should be carried out.

CRD42023434223. The study did not receive funding support.

Neoadjuvant therapy (NT) is increasingly recommended for patients with localized pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Recent research has highlighted the significant treatment burden that patients experience during NT, but caregiver well-being during NT is poorly understood.

A cross-sectional mixed-methods analysis of primary caregivers of patients with localized PDAC receiving NT was undertaken. All patients completed the Caregiver Quality of Life Index-Cancer (CQOLC) survey, while semi-structured interviews were conducted among a convenience sample of participants.

Among 28 caregivers, the mean age was 60.1 years, and most were patient spouses/significant others (71.4%). Patients had resectable (18%), borderline resectable (46%), or locally advanced (36%) PDAC with a mean treatment duration of 2.9 months at the time of their caregiver's enrollment. Most caregivers felt that they received adequate emotional/psychosocial support (80%) and understood the rationale for NT (93%). A majority (60%) reported that caregiving responsibilities impacted their daily lives and required a decrease in their work hours, leading to financial challenges (47%). While overall QOL was moderate (mean 83 ± 21.1, range 0-140), "emotional burden" (47.3 ± 20.9), and "positive adaption" (57.3 ± 13.9) were the lowest ranked CQOLC subsection scores.

Caregivers of patients with PDAC undergoing NT experience significant emotional symptoms and impact on their daily lives. Assessing caregiver needs and providing resources during NT should be a priority.

This cross-sectional study examined the associations of psychological resilience, perceived social support, and posttraumatic growth (PTG) in breast cancer (BC) patients (N = 203). The participants' mean age was 43.14 ± 9.06, 80.3% were married, 40.9% had a university degree, 61.6% were unemployed, and 72.4% reported a moderate economic status. No significant correlation was found between PTG and psychological resilience, while a moderate and positive correlation was observed between PTG and perceived social support. A weak and positive correlation was also detected between perceived social support and psychological resilience.    Professionals working in the field of psycho-oncology and social work can make attempts to increase psychological resilience, perceived social support, and PTG in BC patients.

We evaluated the association between changes in social support after cancer treatment and recurrence-free survival (RFS) in such patients using a prospective cohort study.

Data were obtained from a prospective cohort study (NCT03131089) conducted at Samsung Medical Center (2013-2021). The primary outcome measure was RFS. Social support was measured using the social and family well-being (SFWB) domain of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General. We calculated the changes in SFWB scores before and during treatment and the hazard ratio for RFS by comparing such changes.

The mean±standard deviation (SD) age of the patients was 35±3.9 years, and 71.5% and 64.8% of the patients were married and had children, respectively. The mean±SD SFWB score at baseline was 20.5±5.0 out of 26. After cancer treatment, 35.9%, 10.3%, and 53.8% of the participants had increasing, unchanged, and decreasing SFWB scores, respectively. The decreasing SFWB score group had a higher risk of mortality or recurrence than the increasing group. Risk factors for the decreasing score were the presence of children during diagnosis.

In this cohort, changes in social support after treatment were associated with RFS in young patients with breast cancer. Health professionals should develop family interventions to help them receive proper social support.

Cancer often causes reduced resilience, quality of life (QoL) and poorer overall well-being. To mitigate these problems, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is widely used among patients with cancer. This study aimed to evaluate the long-term effects of an interdisciplinary integrative oncology group-based program (IO-GP) on the resilience and use of CAM in patients with cancer.

This was a prospective, observational, single-center study. Resilience (RS-13), CAM usage (I-CAM-G), QoL (SF-12) and health-related lifestyle factor (nutrition, smoking, alcohol consumption and physical exercise) data were collected for 70 patients who participated in a 10-week IO-GP between January 2019 and June 2022 due to cancer. The IO-GP is offered at the setting of a university hospital and is open to adult patients with cancer. It contains elements from mind-body medicine and positive psychology, as well as recommendations on healthy diet, exercise and CAM approaches. Patients who completed the IO-GP at least 12 months prior (1-4.5 years ago) were included in this study. Statistical analysis included descriptive analysis and parametric and nonparametric tests to identify significant differences (P < .05).

Resilience increased significantly ≥12 months after participation in the IO-GP (n = 44, P = .006, F = 8.274) and had a medium effect size (r = .410). The time since the IO-GP was completed ("12-24 months," "24-36 months," and ">36 months") showed no statistically significant interaction with changes in resilience (P = .226, F = 1.544). The most frequently used CAM modalities within the past 12 months were vitamins/minerals (85.7%), relaxation techniques (54.3%), herbs and plant medicine (41.1%), yoga (41.4%) and meditation (41.4%). The IO-GP was the most common source informing study participants about relaxation techniques (n = 24, 64.9%), meditation (n = 21, 72.4%) and taking vitamin D (n = 16, 40.0%). Significantly greater levels of resilience were found in those practicing meditation (P = .010, d = -.642) or visualization (P = .003, d = -.805) compared to non-practitioners.

IO-GPs have the potential to empower patients with cancer to continue using CAM practices-especially from mind-body medicine-even 1 to 4.5 years after completing the program. Additionally, resilience levels increased. These findings provide notable insight into the long-term effects of integrative oncology interventions on resilience and the use of CAM, especially in patients with breast cancer.

Breast cancer is currently the most prevalent malignancy among women. Psychological resilience is an important factor that diminishes the stress-related emotional and psychosocial disturbances triggered when receiving the diagnosis. Furthermore, resilience appears to be associated with cortisol, the hormonal end-product of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis; however, further studies are needed due to the mixed results reported. Thus, we aim to examine the predictive role of social support and cortisol in resilience among breast cancer patients.

A total of 132 women with primary breast cancer completed the Medical Outcomes Study-Social Support Survey (MOS-SSS) and the Resilience Scale (RS-14) and provided four salivary samples for the estimation of participants' total daily cortisol production, for which the formula of the area under the curve with respect to the ground (AUCg) was applied. Moderation analyses were performed to study the influence of social support and AUCg on psychological resilience levels.

The regression analyses showed a direct significant effect for the emotional support subscale of MOS-SSS on resilience and the interaction between emotional support and AUCg was also found to be statistically significant. Specifically, the conditional effect of emotional support on resilience was found to be significant at middle (M = 3.08; p < .05) and low levels (M = .59; p < .001) of AUCg.

Our results suggest that newly diagnosed breast cancer women with middle and low diurnal cortisol profiles may benefit more from emotional support based-interventions while women with high diurnal cortisol may need more individualized therapies.

Heart failure is an intense, unpredictable, and stressful chronic disease caused by the decline in cardiac pumping function. The influence of heart failure affects patients not only in terms of physical capabilities but also in terms of their emotional and social dimensions, with patients in different functional classes experiencing different levels of effect. Although resilience and health-related quality of life have been studied in populations with heart failure, the scholarly understanding of different functional classes is limited.

This study was designed to investigate the relationship between resilience and health-related quality of life among patients with heart failure in different physical functional classes in Taiwan.

A cross-sectional design was applied to study patients with heart failure in northern Taiwan. Two structured questionnaires, including the Resilience Scale for Adults and the 12-item Short Form Health Survey, were used to assess resilience and health-related quality of life. New York Heart Association functional class was used to determine physical function status, and canonical correlation analysis was used to determine the weight of each resilience and quality-of-life domain for the different functional classes.

The 100 participants had an average age of 65.52 years. Slightly over half (56%) were classified as Functional Class II. A group difference in health-related quality of life was observed. Personal strength (rs = .759) and social competence (rs = -.576) were found to influence the resilience and emotional role dimension of quality of life (rs = -.996) in the Functional Class II group. In addition, family cohesion (rs = -.922), dominant resilience, physical function (rs = .467), and bodily pain (rs = .465) were found to influence quality of life in the Functional Class III group.

The efficacy of measures taken to increase resilience to heart failure varied in patients in different functional classes. Functional Class II individuals were better able to manage the disease using their personal strength, whereas Functional Class III individuals relied more heavily on family support and assistance for this effort. Furthermore, participant feelings about quality of life also varied by functional class, with physical function and bodily pain taking on significantly more importance for Functional Class III individuals.