Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39623367›Full record

ArticleBMC psychiatry2024

Comparing the experiences of cancer survivors living with sleep disturbances between differing levels of psychological distress: a qualitative study.

Julia Chan, Danielle Wing Lam Ng, Richard Fielding, Wendy Wing Tak Lam

Abstract readComparative Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC psychiatry, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Julia ChanSchool of Public Health, Centre for Psycho-Oncology Research and Training, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Danielle Wing Lam NgSchool of Public Health, Centre for Psycho-Oncology Research and Training, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Richard FieldingSchool of Public Health, Centre for Psycho-Oncology Research and Training, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Wendy Wing Tak LamSchool of Public Health, Centre for Psycho-Oncology Research and Training, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. wwtlam@hku.hk.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPsychological distress often co-occurs with sleep disturbances; but the specific mechanisms linking the two remain unclear. A qualitative study explored perceptions and factors associated with sleep disturbances in cancer survivors between patients with varying levels of psychological distress.

methodsThirty-three Cantonese speaking mixed type cancer survivors were recruited from a community cancer care program. Participants that scored > 5 on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and had non-clinical or borderline to clinical levels of psychological distress underwent semi-structured interviews. Interviews were analyzed using grounded theory.

resultsCommon triggers of sleep disturbances included unresolved treatment side-effects, intrusive thoughts about cancer and fear of cancer recurrence or progression, poor sleep hygiene and a lack of routine. Those with higher levels of distress exhibited more worry about recovery after cancer. Further, they engaged in thought suppression and experienced meta-worry about negative emotions and worry of poor sleep impacting recovery and cancer progression. They commonly exhibited high sleep reactivity and were observed to have limited social support. In contrast, those with low distress adopted better adaptive mechanisms, including a changed commitment to prioritizing health and positive reappraisal of their recovery progress. Self-distraction was used to cope with sleep disturbances and they had fewer expectations of good sleep quality.

conclusionsFindings provided insights into the suitability of interventions for patients with sleep disturbances. Interventions targeting maladaptive emotion-focused coping may be more effective in addressing sleep disturbances in cancer survivors with higher distress. Interventions adopting a stepped-care approach may be advantageous in managing sleep disturbances by catering for varying levels of distress.

Indexed as

Cancer SurvivorsPsychological DistressQualitative ResearchSleep Wake DisordersAdaptation, PsychologicalAdultAgedFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedNeoplasmsExperiencesPsychological distressPsycho-oncologyQualitativeSleep disturbance

Identifiers

PMID39623367
PMCPMC11610178

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.