TY - JOUR
T1 - Digital stress management in cancer
T2 - Testing StressProffen in a 12-month randomized controlled trial
AU - Børøsund, Elin
AU - Ehlers, Shawna L.
AU - Clark, Matthew M.
AU - Andrykowski, Michael A.
AU - Cvancarova Småstuen, Milada
AU - Solberg Nes, Lise
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Authors. Cancer published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Cancer Society
PY - 2022/4/1
Y1 - 2022/4/1
N2 - BACKGROUND: Cognitive-behavioral stress management interventions are associated with improved psychological well-being for cancer survivors. The availability of, access to, and outreach of these in-person interventions are limited, however. The current study, therefore, evaluated the efficacy of StressProffen, a digital application (app)–based stress management intervention for cancer survivors, in a 12-month randomized controlled trial. METHODS: Cancer survivors 1 year or less after their treatment (N = 172) were randomized to the StressProffen intervention (n = 84) or a usual-care control group (n = 88). The intervention was delivered in a simple blended care model: 1) 1 in-person introduction session, 2) 10 app-based cognitive-behavioral stress management modules, and 3) 2 follow-up phone calls. Stress (Perceived Stress Scale), anxiety and depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), self-regulatory fatigue (Self-Regulatory Fatigue 18), and health-related quality of life (HRQOL; RAND-36) were examined at the baseline and at 6 and 12 months. Generalized linear models for repeated measures were fitted to compare effects over time. RESULTS: Participants were mainly female (82%), had a mean age of 52 years (standard deviation, 11.3 years; range, 20-78 years), and had a variety of cancer types (mostly breast cancer [48%]). Over the 12-month study time, the intervention group reported significantly decreased stress (P <.001), depression (P =.003), and self-regulatory fatigue (P =.002) as well as improved HRQOL (for 6 of 8 domains, P ≤.015) in comparison with controls. The largest favored effects for the intervention group were observed at 6 months: stress (estimated mean difference [MD], –5.1; P <.001), anxiety (MD, –1.4; P =.015), depression (MD, –2.1; P <.001), self-regulatory fatigue (MD, –4.9; P <.001), and HRQOL (7 of 8 domains; P ≤.037). CONCLUSIONS: Digital stress management interventions such as StressProffen have the potential to extend the outreach of psychological interventions and provide easily available and effective psychosocial support for cancer survivors.
AB - BACKGROUND: Cognitive-behavioral stress management interventions are associated with improved psychological well-being for cancer survivors. The availability of, access to, and outreach of these in-person interventions are limited, however. The current study, therefore, evaluated the efficacy of StressProffen, a digital application (app)–based stress management intervention for cancer survivors, in a 12-month randomized controlled trial. METHODS: Cancer survivors 1 year or less after their treatment (N = 172) were randomized to the StressProffen intervention (n = 84) or a usual-care control group (n = 88). The intervention was delivered in a simple blended care model: 1) 1 in-person introduction session, 2) 10 app-based cognitive-behavioral stress management modules, and 3) 2 follow-up phone calls. Stress (Perceived Stress Scale), anxiety and depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), self-regulatory fatigue (Self-Regulatory Fatigue 18), and health-related quality of life (HRQOL; RAND-36) were examined at the baseline and at 6 and 12 months. Generalized linear models for repeated measures were fitted to compare effects over time. RESULTS: Participants were mainly female (82%), had a mean age of 52 years (standard deviation, 11.3 years; range, 20-78 years), and had a variety of cancer types (mostly breast cancer [48%]). Over the 12-month study time, the intervention group reported significantly decreased stress (P <.001), depression (P =.003), and self-regulatory fatigue (P =.002) as well as improved HRQOL (for 6 of 8 domains, P ≤.015) in comparison with controls. The largest favored effects for the intervention group were observed at 6 months: stress (estimated mean difference [MD], –5.1; P <.001), anxiety (MD, –1.4; P =.015), depression (MD, –2.1; P <.001), self-regulatory fatigue (MD, –4.9; P <.001), and HRQOL (7 of 8 domains; P ≤.037). CONCLUSIONS: Digital stress management interventions such as StressProffen have the potential to extend the outreach of psychological interventions and provide easily available and effective psychosocial support for cancer survivors.
KW - cancer survivors
KW - cognitive behavioral
KW - electronic health (eHealth)
KW - mobile applications
KW - psycho-oncology
KW - psychological distress
KW - stress management
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U2 - 10.1002/cncr.34046
DO - 10.1002/cncr.34046
M3 - Article
C2 - 34855212
AN - SCOPUS:85120434483
SN - 0008-543X
VL - 128
SP - 1503
EP - 1512
JO - Cancer
JF - Cancer
IS - 7
ER -