Purpose: Patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) experience significant distress. Expressive writing is an intervention designed to improve well-being by encouraging expression of emotions related to traumatic experiences. Expressive writing has been shown to be generally feasible and effective at improving the cancer experience but has not been examined in patients with recently diagnosed hematologic malignancies. We examined the feasibility of an expressive writing intervention for hospitalized patients with AML receiving induction chemotherapy.
Methods: Fifteen hospitalized AML patients were randomized to complete expressive writing or neutral prompts. Feasibility was defined as 80% of enrolled subjects completing the study. Participants completed validated questionnaires measuring depression, anxiety, resilience, rumination, and quality of life at baseline, completion of the second and fourth writing exercises, and 3 months after enrollment. Participants also completed post-writing surveys following the writing exercise to reflect on the experience.
Findings: We enrolled 15 participants and 8 of 15 subjects (53%) completed the study. Due to low enrollment, we examined the pre-to-post intervention changes, rather than comparing results across intervention arms. Pre-to-post intervention changes in the expected direction were seen at the second assessment for depression and resilience, at the fourth assessment for rumination, emotional well-being, and social well-being, and at the 3-month follow-up for anxiety and emotional well-being. Similar changes in patient-reported outcomes were also seen in the control condition. Participants who completed the intervention reported the experience was meaningful and were able to express their deepest thoughts and feelings, more so than participants in the control arm.
Conclusion: In our work, the expressive writing intervention was not found to be feasible. The trial was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic which likely impacted the feasibility. Future studies should aim to identify ways to make the intervention more accessible, such as developing an electronic application for expressive writing.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07347332.2023.2296619 | DOI Listing |
J Wound Ostomy Continence Nurs
January 2025
Lauren Harris, PG, DipHealthPsych, Health Psychologist, Cancer Services, Te Whatu Ora - Waitemata, New Zealand.
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a self-compassion expressive writing activity could improve psychological well-being in people with an ostomy, as assessed by changes in body image distress, ostomy-specific quality of life (QOL), self-compassion, and dispositional disgust.
Design: Randomized controlled trial design was used.
Subjects And Setting: The sample comprised 175 English-speaking patients over 18 years of age with a fecal or urinary ostomy; all participants resided in Australia and New Zealand.
Eur J Oncol Nurs
January 2025
Department of Health Disparities Research, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA. Electronic address:
Purpose: Rural breast cancer survivors (BCS) have unique unmet psychosocial needs that affect quality of life (QOL). Expressive writing (EW) has been shown to improve QOL in cancer survivors, however, its applicability is unclear among rural individuals. This pilot study explores the feasibility and acceptability of an online expressive writing (EW) intervention among rural breast cancer survivors (BCS).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCancer Med
January 2025
Department of Radiation Oncology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
Background: Expressive writing (EW) has emerged as an innovative strategy for improving mood and quality of life. Nevertheless, insufficient research has been conducted on the impact of offering EW to patients with HNC. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of two forms of EW on anxiety, depression, nutrition, and sleep quality in HNC patients undergoing radiotherapy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Trauma survivors are more likely than others to use cannabis, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) commonly co-occurs with cannabis use disorder (CUD). Automatic memory associations between trauma reminders and cannabis use have been suggested as contributing mechanisms. These associations can be studied experimentally by manipulating trauma cue exposure in a cue-reactivity paradigm (CRP) and examining effects on the accessibility of cannabis information in memory in trauma survivors with and without PTSD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEur J Oncol Nurs
December 2024
The First Hospital of Jilin University, No. 71 Xinmin Street, Changchun, Jilin, China. Electronic address:
Purpose: Patients with ovarian cancer often experience significant psychological distress during postoperative chemotherapy, including anxiety and depression. Expressive writing of positive emotions has shown potential in improving psychological health and fostering post-traumatic growth (PTG) in cancer patients. However, its application to ovarian cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy remains under-explored.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!