Risk perception, treatment adherence, and personality during COVID-19 pandemic: An international study on cancer patients.

Objective: To explore the role of personality traits in moderating the relation between COVID-19 risk perception and treatment adherence, and between risk perception and psychosocial distress in patients diagnosed with cancer.

Methods: An online survey (n = 1281) was conducted worldwide in seven countries (Austria, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Spain, Sweden, and Turkey). Inclusion criteria were to be 18 years of age or older, have received a cancer diagnosis, and be in treatment or follow-up.

Physiological linkage during interactions between doctors and cancer patients.

Introduction: Doctors and patients influence each other when interacting and, as a result, can become similar to each other in affect and behavior. In the current work, we examine whether they also become similar to each other on a moment-to-moment basis in their physiological responses. Specifically, we examine physiological linkage-how much a doctor's (or patient's) physiological response predicts a patient's (or doctor's) response at a subsequent time interval-and whether this changes over the course of doctor-patient relationships (measured as the number of consultations held for each unique doctor-patient dyad).

A Pilot Randomized Trial Assessing the Effect of a Psychoeducational Intervention on Psychoneuroimmunological Parameters Among Patients With Nonmetastatic Breast Cancer.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine a potential benefit of the specific psychoeducational intervention "Learning to Live with Cancer" (LTLWC) for patients with operated nonmetastatic breast cancer, with respect to psychological variables and endocrine and immune parameters.

Methods: Fifty-two postmenopausal women with operated stage I to III breast cancer were randomized to either a breast cancer intervention group (BCIG, n = 30) who immediately began participating in the LTLWC intervention program or to a breast cancer control group (BCCG, n = 22). Matched healthy women were asked to participate as a noncancer comparison group (n = 26).

Cancer patients' emotional distress, coping styles and perception of doctor-patient interaction in European cancer settings.

Objective: As a part of a European study, we cross-culturally examined the rate of emotional distress and maladaptive coping and their association with cancer patients' satisfaction with their interactions with the physician responsible for their care.

Methods: Cancer patients (n = 302) from one Middle European (Austria) and two Southern European (Italy, Spain) countries completed the NCCN Distress Thermometer (DT), the Mini-Mental Adjustment to Cancer (Mini-MAC) Anxious Preoccupation (AP) and Hopelessness (H) sub-scales, and the Physician Patient Satisfaction with Doctors Questionnaire (PSQ).

Results: The prevalence of emotional distress (DT caseness) was 60% (26.