Research on mental health improvement in women with breast cancer on the lookout for participants
The interventions offered by the clinical trial are both scientifically proven to be effective in improving the quality of life and mental health of women with this pathology.
Translation by Diana Taborda
A research team led by the University of Coimbra (UC) is seeking participants for a national clinical trial to test the efficacy of two psychological interventions in women with breast carcinoma. With previous studies proving the effectiveness of these interventions, researchers and clinical psychologists now want to understand which one is most effective and appropriate for this type of cancer.
Women who wish to participate in these psychological interventions can do so free of charge, provided they meet six criteria: 1) currently receiving treatment at a radiotherapy service in Portugal (public or private); 2) diagnosed with breast cancer (stages I-III); 3) no ongoing psychotherapy; 4) no current major psychiatric disorder (a criterion to be assessed through a brief online interview); 5) ability to understand and complete self-administered questionnaires in Portuguese; 6) access to the Internet and a computer or tablet. Expressions of interest to participate in the study can be submitted over the next 12 months via the website www.projetomind.com/.
The 'Mind' and 'Mind Support Group' interventions are delivered in a group format, remotely (online), over a period of eight weeks (with one session per week, lasting an estimated 90 to 120 minutes) and delivered by two clinical psychologists. In addition to the initial clinical evaluation to assess eligibility, participants will be evaluated using self-administered questionnaires at three other times: before the intervention, at the end of the intervention, and six months after completion of the intervention. The clinical trial will not interfere in any way with any medical treatments or procedures that participants may be receiving.
The project is coordinated by Inês Trindade, researcher at the Centre for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive-Behavioural Intervention (CINEICC) of the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the University of Coimbra (FPCEUC) and Professor at the Centre for Health and Medical Psychology at Örebro University (Sweden).
Trindade says that currently in Portugal "women with breast cancer generally don't receive any kind of psychological intervention as part of their usual treatment. The interventions offered by this clinical trial are both scientifically proven to be effective in improving the quality of life and mental health of women with this pathology.”
The aim of this national trial is "to test the most appropriate intervention for the Portuguese context (in terms of both efficacy and cost-effectiveness) and, in the long term, to include this intervention in the standard care of women with breast cancer", adds the researcher.
The research project “Mind programme for cancer patients: A randomized controlled trial testing the programme´s cost-effectiveness and efficacy in changing psychological and biological outcomes in women with breast cancer” is funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology.
The study involves several teaching and research units of the University of Coimbra (CINEICC, FPCEUC, Faculty of Economics and the Centre for Neuroscience and Cell Biology), four other Portuguese institutions and five international institutions (Edge Hill University, UK; Deakin University, Australia; University of Nicosia, Cyprus; Örebro University, Sweden; Uppsala University, Sweden).
More information about the clinical trial at:www.projetomind.com/.