The relationships among knowledge, self-efficacy, preparedness, decisional conflict, and decisions to participate in a cancer clinical trial.

Background: Cancer clinical trials (CCTs) are important tools in the development of improved cancer therapies; yet, participation is low. Key psychosocial barriers exist that appear to impact a patient's decision to participate. Little is known about the relationship among knowledge, self-efficacy, preparation, decisional conflict, and patient decisions to take part in CCTs.

Using the interdependence model to understand spousal influence on colorectal cancer screening intentions: a structural equation model.

Background: Although it is widely thought that the marital relationship plays a role in individuals' decisions to have colorectal cancer screening, few studies have evaluated partner influences.

Purpose: We evaluated the role of marital relationship factors such as a relational perspective on the frequency of spouse discussions about screening and screening intentions. Individual-level factors were also evaluated.

Beliefs and intentions for skin protection and UV exposure in young adults.

Objective: To evaluate Fishbein's integrative model in predicting young adults' skin protection, sun exposure, and indoor tanning intentions.

Methods: Two hundred twelve participants completed an online survey.

Results: Damage distress, self-efficacy, and perceived control accounted for 34% of the variance in skin protection intentions.

Skin surveillance intentions among family members of patients with melanoma.

Background: First-degree relatives of individuals diagnosed with melanoma are at increased disease risk. However, many first-degree relatives do not receive a periodic total cutaneous examination from a health care provider or engage in regular skin self-examination. The goal of this study was to identify correlates of total cutaneous examination and skin self-examination intentions among first-degree relatives of melanoma patients, thus providing insight on factors that should be targeted in future intervention research.

A qualitative analysis of couples' communication regarding colorectal cancer screening using the Interdependence Model.

Objective: Colorectal cancer screening (CRCS) uptake in the US remains low. The purpose of this study was to use qualitative methods to characterize partner support and influence regarding CRCS decisions among couples who were both either adherent or non-adherent with CRCS.

Methods: Eighteen couples were interviewed regarding their discussions about CRCS and support and influence strategies used.

A longitudinal analysis of intimacy processes and psychological distress among couples coping with head and neck or lung cancers.

Individuals diagnosed with lung and head and neck (HN) cancers and their spouses are at increased risk for distress. This study assessed whether the way couples communicate about cancer and their perceptions of relationship intimacy influenced both partners' adjustment. One-hundred thirty-nine patients and their spouses [For purposes of clarity, we refer to the patients' intimate partner as the spouse, regardless of actual marital status and we reserve the term partner to refer to the other person in the couple (i.

Sun protection and sunbathing practices among at-risk family members of patients with melanoma.

Background: Despite the increased level of familial risk, research indicates that family members of patients with melanoma engage in relatively low levels of sun protection and high levels of sun exposure. The goal of this study was to evaluate a broad range of demographic, medical, psychological, knowledge, and social influence correlates of sun protection and sunbathing practices among first-degree relatives (FDRs) of melanoma patients and to determine if correlates of sun protection and sunbathing were unique.

Methods: We evaluated correlates of sun protection and sunbathing among FDRs of melanoma patients who were at increased disease risk due to low compliance with sun protection and skin surveillance behaviors.

Interpersonal influences on patients' surgical decision making: the role of close others.

Patients make medical decisions in consultation with their partner, family, and friends. However, little is known about the ways in which these close others influence their decisions, particularly with respect to discrete decisions such as those related to medical treatments. This cross-sectional study investigated their influence on the surgical decisions of inflammatory bowel disease patients referred for surgery to remove their colon (N = 91).

Effects of a decision support intervention on decisional conflict associated with microsatellite instability testing.

Background: Decision support to facilitate informed consent is increasingly important for complicated medical tests. Here, we test a theoretical model of factors influencing decisional conflict in a study examining the effects of a decision support aid that was designed to assist patients at high risk for hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (CRC) deciding whether to pursue the microsatellite instability (MSI) test.

Methods: Participants were 239 CRC patients at high familial risk for a genetic mutation who completed surveys before and after exposure to the intervention.

Intimacy-enhancing psychological intervention for men diagnosed with prostate cancer and their partners: a pilot study.

Introduction: Few couple-focused interventions have been developed to improve distress and relationship outcomes among men diagnosed with localized prostate cancer and their partners.

Aims: We examined the effects of a five-session Intimacy-Enhancing Therapy (IET) vs. Usual Care (UC) on the psychological and relationship functioning of men diagnosed with localized prostate cancer and their partners.

Delivery of Internet-based cancer genetic counselling services to patients' homes: a feasibility study.

We examined the feasibility of home videoconferencing for providing cancer genetic education and risk information to people at risk. Adults with possible hereditary colon or breast and ovarian cancer syndromes were offered Internet-based counselling. Participants were sent web cameras and software to install on their home PCs.

Tailored versus generic interventions for skin cancer risk reduction for family members of melanoma patients.

Background: Improving strategies for risk reduction among family members of patients with melanoma may reduce their risk for melanoma.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of two behavioral interventions designed to improve the frequency of total cutaneous skin examination by a health provider (TCE), skin self-examination (SSE), and sun protection among first degree relatives of patients with melanoma; and to evaluate whether increased intentions, increased benefits, decreased barriers, and improved sunscreen self-efficacy mediated the effects of the tailored intervention, as compared with the generic intervention on TCE, SSE, or sun protection.

Methods: Four hundred forty-three family members (56 parents, 248 siblings, 239 children) who were nonadherent with these practices were randomly assigned to either a generic (N = 218) or a tailored intervention (N = 225) which included 3 print mailings and 1 telephone session.

A randomized trial of genetic and environmental risk assessment (GERA) for colorectal cancer risk in primary care: trial design and baseline findings.

Purpose: This paper describes an ongoing randomized controlled trial designed to assess the impact of genetic and environmental risk assessment (GERA) on colorectal cancer (CRC) screening.

Methods: The trial includes asymptomatic patients who are 50-79years and are not up-to-date with CRC screening guidelines. Patients who responded to a baseline telephone survey are randomized to a GERA or Control group.

Prevalence and correlates of skin cancer screening among middle-aged and older white adults in the United States.

Background: Total skin examinations performed by a physician have the potential to identify skin cancers at an early stage, when they are most amenable to successful treatment. This study examined the prevalence rates of, and factors associated with, receipt of a total skin examination by a dermatologist or other doctor during the past year.

Methods: The participants were 10,486 white men and women aged 50 years and older drawn from a random sample of 31,428 adults aged 18 years and older who took part in the 2005 National Health Interview Survey.

Therapy processes and outcomes of psychological interventions for women diagnosed with gynecological cancers: A test of the generic process model of psychotherapy.

Objective: Little attention has been paid to the role of nonspecific therapy processes in the efficacy of psychological interventions for individuals diagnosed with cancer. The goal of the current study was to examine the three constructs from the generic model of psychotherapy (GMP): therapeutic alliance, therapeutic realizations, and therapeutic openness/involvement in the treatment outcome of women with gynecological cancers attending either a 7-session supportive counseling intervention or a coping and communication skills intervention.

Method: Two hundred and three women completed measures of alliance, realizations, and openness after Intervention Sessions 2, 3, and 6, as well as measures of depressive symptoms after these sessions and 6 months after the pre-intervention assessment (posttreatment).

Facilitating informed decisions regarding microsatellite instability testing among high-risk individuals diagnosed with colorectal cancer.

Purpose: To evaluate the impact of a CD-ROM intervention in the education of patients with suspected Lynch syndrome (LS) about microsatellite instability (MSI) and immunohisochemistry (IHC) testing.

Patients And Methods: Two hundred thirteen patients meeting Bethesda criteria were randomly assigned to receive either a brief educational session with a health educator (n = 105) or a brief educational session plus a CD-ROM (n = 108). Assessments were administered at baseline and 2 weeks post-treatment.

Cancer-related communication, relationship intimacy, and psychological distress among couples coping with localized prostate cancer.

Introduction: The present study evaluated intimacy as a mechanism for the effects of relationship-enhancing (self-disclosure, mutual constructive communication) and relationship-compromising communication (holding back, mutual avoidance, and demand-withdraw communication) on couples' psychological distress.

Methods: Seventy-five men diagnosed with localized prostate cancer in the past year and their partners completed surveys about communication, intimacy, and distress.

Results: Multi-level models with the couple as unit of analyses indicated that the association between mutual constructive communication, mutual avoidance, and patient demand-partner withdraw and distress could be accounted for by their influence on relationship intimacy.

Receipt of provider advice for smoking cessation and use of smoking cessation treatments among cancer survivors.

Background: As the number of cancer survivors increases, the assessment and intervention for smoking among survivors are increasingly important.

Objective: This study examined the extent to which cancer survivors reported being asked and advised about smoking by health-care providers and their use of smoking cessation treatments during quit attempts.

Design: The data were drawn from the 2005 National Health Interview Survey, an annual health survey of US adults.

Intimacy processes and psychological distress among couples coping with head and neck or lung cancers.

Objective: Couples coping with head and neck and lung cancers are at increased risk for psychological and relationship distress given patients' poor prognosis and aggressive and sometimes disfiguring treatments. The relationship intimacy model of couples' psychosocial adaptation proposes that relationship intimacy mediates associations between couples' cancer-related support communication and psychological distress. Because the components of this model have not yet been evaluated in the same study, we examined associations between three types of cancer-related support communication (self-disclosure, perceived partner disclosure, and protective buffering), intimacy (global and cancer-specific), and global distress among patients coping with either head and neck or lung cancer and their partners.

Behavioral oncology and the war on cancer: partnering with biomedicine.

The call for interdisciplinary research in the war on cancer has escalated over the past several years. Behavioral science has played a key role in cancer control, and several exciting opportunities exist and will develop with the ongoing significant advances made in biomedical science. The current article briefly reviews the maturity of behavioral science in the areas of prevention, early detection, and survivorship and how the partnership of behavioral and biomedical science can effectively impact cancer incidence, morbidity, and mortality.

Friction dependence on growth conditions in epitaxial films.

In investigating the growth kinetics of epitaxial films in situ by force microscopy, we have observed several instances where the lateral force contrast on the growing monolayer exhibits a strong dependence on the driving force for growth (i.e., solute concentration).

Identifying cluster subtypes for intentions to have colorectal cancer screening among non-compliant intermediate-risk siblings of individuals with colorectal cancer.

Although first-degree relatives of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients diagnosed at an early age are at increased risk for CRC, their compliance with colorectal cancer screening (CRCS) is not high. Relatively little is known about why these intermediate-risk family members do not comply with CRCS. Study aims were to identify subgroups of siblings of individuals diagnosed with CRC prior to age 61 who were not compliant with CRCS using cluster analysis and to identify demographical, medical and attitudinal correlates of cluster membership.

Risk factors for the development of osteoporosis and osteoporotic fractures among older men.

Objective: Osteoporotic fractures are associated with significant morbidity and mortality particularly among older men. However, there is little information regarding risk factors among this population. The aims of our study were to determine risk factors for osteoporosis and fragility fractures and the predictive value of bone mineral density (BMD) measurements for development of fragility fractures in a cohort of elderly Caucasian and African American men.