1,720,999 research outputs found
Efficacy, Use, and Acceptability of a Web-Based Self-management Intervention Designed to Maximize Sexual Well-being in Men Living With Prostate Cancer: Single-Arm Experimental Study
Get PDFBackground:Sexual dysfunction is a frequent side-effect associated with different prostate cancer treatment approaches. It can have a substantial impact on men and partners and is associated with increased psychological morbidity. Despite this, sexual concerns are often not adequately addressed in routine practice. Evidence-based online interventions have potential to provide ongoing information and sexual wellbeing support throughout all stages of care. Objectives:To examine the efficacy of an online self-management intervention designed to maximise sexual wellbeing in men living with prostate cancer and explore user perspectives on usability and acceptability.Methods:Using a single-arm study design, participants were provided with access to the five-step intervention for a period of 3 months. Intervention content was tailored based on responses to brief screening questions on treatment type, relationship status and sexual orientation. Efficacy was assessed using paired-sample t-tests comparing mean differences between pre and post intervention measurements exploring participant’s self-reported knowledge and understanding, sexual satisfaction, and comfort discussing sexual issues. Usability and acceptability were determined based on programme usage data and a post intervention survey exploring perceived usefulness. Results:A total of 109 participants were recruited to the study. Significant post intervention improvements at follow-up were observed in overall survey scores (12.23/20 (SD: 2.46) versus 13.62/20 (SD: 2.31): t = 9.570; P =0.001) as well as in individual item scores on the extent to which participants agreed that they had sufficient information to manage the impact of prostate cancer on their sex life (2.31/4 (SD: 0.86) versus 2.57/4 (SD: 0.85): t = 3.660; P =0.001) and had the potential to have a satisfying sex life following treatment (2.38/4 (SD: 0.79) versus 3.17/4 (SD: 0.78): t = 7.643; P =0.001). The median number of intervention sessions was 3.0 (Range 1 to 11 sessions) with a median duration of 22.0 minutes (Range: 8 to 77 minutes). Acceptable usability scores were reported with the highest result observed for the question on the extent to which the intervention provided relevant information. Conclusions:This study provides evidence for the efficacy of a tailored, online intervention to maximise sexual wellbeing in men living with prostate cancer. Results indicate that the intervention may improve self-perceived knowledge and understanding of how to manage sexual issues, and increase self-efficacy or a belief that a satisfactory sex life could be achieved following treatment. Findings will be used to refine the intervention content prior to testing as part of a larger longitudinal study examining its effectiveness. <br/
Post Treatment for Prostate Cancer: The Experiences and Psychosocial Needs of Black African and Black Caribbean Men and their Partners
No full textThis study explored the experiences, psychosocial needs and how best to address them after prostate cancer treatment for Black African/Black Caribbean men and their partners in England. Cancer statistics in the United Kingdom show that Black African and Black Caribbean men have a disproportionately higher risk (1 in 4) of developing prostate cancer earlier in life and in more aggressive forms compared with Caucasian (1 in 8) and Asian (1 in 13) men. An intersection between their higher prostate cancer risk, long term treatment side effects and their ethnic cultural context suggests that Black African/Black Caribbean men and their partners may have unique experiences and support needs after prostate cancer treatment. However, these phenomena are currently not well understood.Using constructivist grounded theory methodology, thirty one face-to-face, five Skype and two telephone interviews were conducted with twenty five men, eleven partners and two healthcare professionals recruited in England. Two focus groups were also held with an additional nine healthcare professionals at their respective Trusts. Data were analysed using constant comparison. Charmaz’s key stages of initial, focused and theoretical coding were followed. Theoretical coding of key categories from the three data sets culminated in the development of a substantive theory ‘man in the driving seat’ which articulates the patterns of behaviour of Black African/Black Caribbean men and their partners along the prostate cancer journey.Findings showed that gender-based cultural values and norms influenced how men and partners responded and coped with treatment side effects of prostate cancer. There were indications that the men were in the ‘driving seat’ whilst their partners seemed to be placed in the ‘passenger seat’ along the prostate cancer journey. Triangulating participants’ data showed that 12 most of their experiences resonate with literature on Caucasian groups. However, some important cultural differences were observed in the experiences of men and partners in this study especially in the areas of disclosure, partner engagement, coping, accessing support and enacting their masculinity roles.Culturally-informed gender roles and identities should be considered when developing post-treatment support for Black African/Black Caribbean men with prostate cancer and their partners. Whilst these men may not spontaneously admit their need for help, healthcare professionals need to explore their professional expertise to navigate cultural barriers and identify, treat and manage post-treatment psychological distress among these men. It is essential to also recognise partners’ support needs and incorporate these within the psychosocial support agenda. Inclusive and culturally sensitive psychosocial support which particularly recognises the experiences and needs of men and their partners and supports them both as individuals and as a couple is recommended
Post Treatment for Prostate Cancer
Get PDFThis study explored the experiences, psychosocial needs and how best to address them after prostate cancer treatment for Black African/Black Caribbean men and their partners in England. Cancer statistics in the United Kingdom show that Black African and Black Caribbean men have a disproportionately higher risk (1 in 4) of developing prostate cancer earlier in life and in more aggressive forms compared with Caucasian (1 in 8) and Asian (1 in 13) men. An intersection between their higher prostate cancer risk, long term treatment side effects and their ethnic cultural context suggests that Black African/Black Caribbean men and their partners may have unique experiences and support needs after prostate cancer treatment. However, these phenomena are currently not well understood.Using constructivist grounded theory methodology, thirty one face-to-face, five Skype and two telephone interviews were conducted with twenty five men, eleven partners and two healthcare professionals recruited in England. Two focus groups were also held with an additional nine healthcare professionals at their respective Trusts. Data were analysed using constant comparison. Charmaz’s key stages of initial, focused and theoretical coding were followed. Theoretical coding of key categories from the three data sets culminated in the development of a substantive theory ‘man in the driving seat’ which articulates the patterns of behaviour of Black African/Black Caribbean men and their partners along the prostate cancer journey.Findings showed that gender-based cultural values and norms influenced how men and partners responded and coped with treatment side effects of prostate cancer. There were indications that the men were in the ‘driving seat’ whilst their partners seemed to be placed in the ‘passenger seat’ along the prostate cancer journey. Triangulating participants’ data showed that 12 most of their experiences resonate with literature on Caucasian groups. However, some important cultural differences were observed in the experiences of men and partners in this study especially in the areas of disclosure, partner engagement, coping, accessing support and enacting their masculinity roles.Culturally-informed gender roles and identities should be considered when developing post-treatment support for Black African/Black Caribbean men with prostate cancer and their partners. Whilst these men may not spontaneously admit their need for help, healthcare professionals need to explore their professional expertise to navigate cultural barriers and identify, treat and manage post-treatment psychological distress among these men. It is essential to also recognise partners’ support needs and incorporate these within the psychosocial support agenda. Inclusive and culturally sensitive psychosocial support which particularly recognises the experiences and needs of men and their partners and supports them both as individuals and as a couple is recommended
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Developing and testing a theory-driven e-learning intervention to equip healthcare professionals to communicate with parents impacted by parental cancer
Get PDFPurpose: Parents have a desire and need for instructive support from healthcare professionals on how best to communicate a cancer diagnosis with their dependent children. Healthcare professionals lack confidence to initiate and facilitate parent-child communication, reporting the need for training. To address the evident gap, this paper outlines the planning, development and testing phases of an e-learning intervention, using a person-based approach. Methods: The planning and development phases combined evidence from reviews of qualitative and quantitative literature, an expert group and data generated from primary research of two focus groups with frontline oncology professionals (n=23) to develop the e-learning intervention prototype. An iterative approach was adopted with 14 ‘think aloud’ interviews for prototype usability testing, resulting in continuous movement between data collection, analysis and modification of the e-learning intervention. Results: Involving end-users throughout all phases of this process, optimised the intervention development. As a result, a communication framework on how healthcare professionals can initiate these conversations with parents was integrated, alongside role-play videos and original artwork by children expressing their views associated with parental cancer. During the testing phase, think-aloud interviews identified key navigational difficulties which were modified and resolved. Minor modifications were made to the content and ‘look and feel’ of screen pages.Conclusions: The systematic and iterative, person-based approach, yielded important and complementary insights to enhance acceptability of the e-learning intervention. Providing a detailed description of the foundations that underpinned the development of this e-learning intervention, promotes transparency in the planning and design process, therefore aids methodological rigour.<br/
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
eHealth and the burden of cancer survivorship.
Get PDFCancer survivorship is increasing year on year due to an aging population and improvements in cancer screening and treatments. The experience of survivorship can be challenging; individuals living with and beyond cancer can face a burden of survivorship. Cancer survivors not only experience symptom burden (the severity and impact of biopsychosocial consequences of disease and its treatment), there is also evidence that individuals living with
chronic conditions experience treatment burden (the ‘work’ required of them in managing their condition and its symptoms). Traditional clinic-based approaches to relieving the burden of cancer survivors may not be sustainable or the most beneficial. eHealth interventions are developing exponentially and there is an expectation that they can improve the experience of cancer survivorship. This thesis considers the impact of eHealth supportive care interventions on the burden of those living with and beyond cancer, reporting the experience of adult cancer survivors and the perceptions of health care professionals (HCPs).
Five publications form the body of this thesis. The first publication indicates that while most cancer survivors want to be fully informed many do not receive sufficient information in all areas (e.g. psychosocial issues), thus supporting the consideration of alternative approaches to
providing cancer survivors with supportive care. Two publications report positive impact of a telephone follow-up intervention on the burden of survivorship. Two publications consider HCP perceptions of remote symptom monitoring and internet care plans. These papers report
that HCPs perceive eHealth interventions to increase burden for specific groups of cancer survivors depending on individual patient factors, the context of their care, and the content of the intervention. This body of work supports the potential of eHealth to alleviate the burden of cancer survivors but acknowledges that the complexity of for whom and how these benefits occur warrants exploration through further research. Involving cancer survivors and HCPs in
the development of eHealth supportive care interventions is key to creating and implementing sustainable effective solutions to relieving the burden of future cancer survivors
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