Building coping skills to relieve distress and physical symptoms: Findings from a quality improvement project of a five-week group psychoeducational program for cancer patients

Abstract

Purpose/objective

To examine the effectiveness of Mind Over Matter (MOM), a group psychosocial intervention based on CBT, ACT, and mind-body interventions, from data collected during a quality improvement project. MOM was offered in person prior to COVID-19 and via telehealth after COVID-19 began.

Design/research approach

Distress, as measured by anxiety, depression, the severity of physical symptoms and the impact of physical symptoms on daily functioning, was measured pre- and post-MOM.

Sample

The sample included 46 participants with an experience of cancer ranging in age from 31 to 75.

Findings

Overall, there were significant differences in anxiety, depression, and physical symptom severity and interference pre and post MOM. The in-person intervention showed significant differences in anxiety, depression, and physical symptom interference. There were significant differences in anxiety and physical symptom severity reported in the telehealth groups.

Implications

MOM may be an effective psychosocial intervention for addressing cancer-related physical and emotional challenges making it a valuable resource for institutions trying to meet needs identified by distress screenings.

Keywords:

• Cancer
• distress
• physical symptoms
• psychosocial intervention
• telemedicine

Acknowledgements

We thank the Inova LWC oncology social workers who facilitated the interventions. We thank the participants in this study for their time in completing the surveys. Michelle Ferretti participated in study conception, design, acquisition of data, and drafting and revising of the manuscript. Karlynn BrintzenhofeSzoc participated in study conception, data analysis and interpretation, and the drafting and revising of the manuscript. Both Kimberly Lowery Walker and Jennifer Bires participated in study conception and drafting and revising the manuscript. IRB Protocol ID U21-10-4586.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.