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Determine the efficacy of a brief and inexpensive psychosocial intervention, (called expressive writing) in improving health outcomes for cancer survivors.
This study aims to evaluate a computer-based stress-management therapy called expressive writing. This involves logging in to an online survey and writing in the survey about your thoughts and feelings about your cancer or to type in your everyday experiences. This requires 20-30 minutes of writing a day for 4 consecutive days. You will also provide saliva samples.
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| Label | Type | Description | Intervention Names |
|---|---|---|---|
| Everyday experiences writing | Experimental | Involves logging in to an online survey and writing in the survey about your everyday experiences. This requires 20-30 minutes of writing a day for 4 consecutive days. You will also provide saliva samples. |
|
| Expressive writing | Experimental | Involves logging in to an online survey and writing in the survey about your thoughts and feelings about your cancer. This requires 20-30 minutes of writing a day for 4 consecutive days. You will also provide saliva samples. |
|
| Name | Type | Description | Arm Group Labels | Other Names |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Expressive writing | Behavioral | log in to an online survey and writing in the survey about your thoughts and feelings about your cancer. This requires 20-30 minutes of writing a day for 4 consecutive days. You will also provide saliva samples. |
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| salivary cortisol levels | Participants will be asked to give their saliva samples through chewable swabs 3 times per day on every day of data collection, i.e. once at baseline, which is 24 hours before the intervention, and twice after the intervention, specifically, 24 hours and 6 weeks post-intervention. Participants will be requested to chew on their swabs and spit into their containers at the following times: 1) immediately after waking up, 2) within 30 min after waking, and 3) immediately before going to sleep. | Up to 6 weeks |
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| salivary α-amylase and C-Reactive Protein (CRP) | Participants will be asked to give their saliva samples through chewable swabs 3 times per day on every day of data collection, i.e. once at baseline, which is 24 hours before the intervention, and twice after the intervention, specifically, 24 hours and 6 weeks post-intervention. Participants will be requested to chew on their swabs and spit into their containers at the following times: 1) immediately after waking up, 2) within 30 min after waking, and 3) immediately before going to sleep. |
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Inclusion Criteria:
Exclusion Criteria:
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| Name | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Richard Brown, Ph.D. | Virginia Commonwealth University | Principal Investigator |
| Facility | Status | City | State | ZIP | Country | Contacts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia Commonwealth University/Massey Cancer Center | Richmond | Virginia | 23298 | United States |
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| Everyday experiences writing | Behavioral | log in to an online survey and writing in the survey about your thoughts and feelings about your everyday experiences. This requires 20-30 minutes of writing a day for 4 consecutive days. You will also provide saliva samples. |
|
| Up to 6 weeks |
| self-reported psychometric measures | The levels of perceived psychological stress levels will be assessed using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). This psychometric instrument has 14 items (see Appendices) that will be answered by the participants on a 5-point Likert scale. This scale has a demonstrated good reliability in healthy and clinical populations, and has a Chronbach's alpha value of 0.86109. The severity of fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) is a good indicator for the level of negative emotional stress experienced. FCR Instrument is a 42 item multi-dimensional measure which specifically describes the amount of emotional stress experienced. Cancer Behavior Inventory-Brief Version (CBI-B), a 12 item self-reported instrument to measures the level of self-efficacy among Cancer Survivors for their capacity to cope with cancer. All 12 items are rated on a 9-point likert scale that ranges from 1 ("not all confident") to 9 ("totally confident"). | Up to 6 weeks |