Krankheitsbewältigung bei malignen Lymphomen

In einem prospektiven, hypothesengeleiteten Design mit zwei Messzeitpunkten wurde die Krankheitsverarbeitung (Bewältigungsstrategien, Kausal- und Kontrollattributionen) von Patienten mit malignen Lymphomen sowie deren Zusammenhänge mit Lebensqualität und emotionalem Befinden vor und sechs Monate nach Hochdosischemotherapie mit autologer Blutstammzelltransplantation untersucht. Neben soziodemographischen Daten wurden medizinische Parameter wie Karnofsky-Index und Remissionsstatus erhoben. Die Untersuchung stützte sich auf multidimensionale, standardisierte und normierte Testverfahren, deren Gütekriterien an verschiedenen Stichproben, großteils auch an Krebspatienten, überprüft worden waren. Im Erhebungszeitraum (März 1999 bis August 2001) konnte eine Stichprobe von n=69 Patienten akquiriert werden. Diese reduzierte sich aus Gründen von Tod, anderer medizinischer Behandlung und persönlicher Ablehnung auf n=45 zum zweiten Erhebungszeitpunkt. Im Hinblick auf soziodemographische und medizinische Parameter wurden die Patienten mit der Studie von Langenmayer, 1999 an autolog blutstammzelltransplantierten Lymphompatienten und mit Daten der Normalbevölkerung (Statistisches Bundesamt Wiesbaden) verglichen. Die statistische Auswertung erfolgte in Abhängigkeit vom Skalenniveau und den Verteilungscharakteristika der Daten mit Hilfe von parametrischen und nonparametrischen Verfahren. Neben t-Test-Vergleichen, dem U-Test nach Mann-Whitney und Wilcoxon, den χ2-Techniken, der Produkt-Moment-Korrelation nach Bravais-Pearson und Spearman’s Rangkorrelation, wurden ein- und mehrfaktorielle Varianzanalysen, multiple Regressionsanalysen und Clusteranalysen nach der Ward-Methode berechnet. Um Scheinsignifkanzen durch α-Fehler-Kumulierung zu vermeiden, wurden die Irrtumswahrscheinlichen nach der Bonferroni-Methode korrigiert. In der Krankheitsbewältigung (FKV) zeigte sich eine im Vergleich mit Muthny et al., 1992 geringere Tendenz zum sozialen Abwärtsvergleich, was möglicherweise mit der Schwere und Lebensbedrohlichkeit der Erkrankung in Zusammenhang steht. Bei den subjektiven Kausalattributionen (PUK) konnten im Hinblick auf Lebensqualität und emotionales Befinden adaptive und maladaptive Formen identifiziert werden. Dies spricht gegen die prinzipielle Maladaptivität subjektiver Krankheitstheorien (Riehl-Emde et al., 1989; Muthny et al., 1992; Faller et al., 1995). Die Attribution auf "Umweltverschmutzung" ist bei Krebspatienten häufig (vgl. Becker, 1984; Verres, 1986) und erwies sich als adaptiv; "Gesundheitsverhalten", "Alltagsstress", "Verarbeitungsdefizite", "eigene seelische Probleme" und "geringes Durchsetzungsvermögen" hingegen als maladaptiv. Der Autor vermutet Zusammenhänge mit Selbstbeschuldigungsprozessen, was durch eine multivariate Varianzanalyse gestützt wurde: die bislang noch nicht publizierte Differenzierung zwischen natur- und handlungskausalen Attributionen erwies sich als einzig signifikanter Einflussfaktor auf Lebensqualität und emotionales Befinden im multivariaten Vergleich. Naturkausal werden solche Attributionen bezeichnet, auf die der Patient intentional keinen Einfluss nehmen konnte (z.B. Zufall, Schicksal, Vererbung), während handlungskausale Ursachen prinzipiell veränderbar gewesen wären (z.B. hohe Anforderungen an sich selbst, Alttagsstress, berufliche Belastungen). Patienten mit handlungskausalen Attributionsmodellen hatten eine signifikant geringere Lebensqualität, geringere emotionale Funktion und erhöhte Werte an affektiven Belastungen: sie waren häufiger niedergeschlagen, müde und missmutig; auch gaben sie signifikant mehr Ursachen für ihre Erkrankung an, zudem in höherer Gewichtung. Es zeigte sich ein positiver Einfluss internaler Kontrollattributionen auf Lebensqualität und Rollenfunktion sechs Monate nach autologer Stammzelltransplantation, was die Untersuchungen von Baider & Sarell, 1983; Reynaert et al., 1995 und Eckhardt-Henn et al., 1997 bestätigt, unserer Hypothese aber widerspricht, dass sich im Setting der Hochdosischemotherapie mit Angewiesenheit auf Ärzte, Pflegepersonal und Angehörige sozial-externale Attributionen als adaptiver erweisen würden. Hinsichtlich des Remissionsstatus und einiger soziodemographischer Parameter ergaben sich geringe bis mittelstarke Zusammenhänge mit der Krankheitsbewältigung, Kausal- und Kontrollüberzeugungen. Diese hielten einer Bonferroni-Korrektur jedoch nicht stand, so dass sie lediglich als Tendenzen interpretiert werden dürfen. Keine Zusammenhänge zeigten sich in Bezug auf den Karnofsky-Index und die Diagnosegruppen. Mit Clusteranalysen nach der Ward-Methode wurden die untersuchten Patienten eindeutig differenzierbaren Clustern der Krankheitsbewältigung (FKV) bzw. Kontrollattribution (KKG) zugeordnet. Letztere entsprachen den von Wallston & Wallston, 1982 beschriebenen "rein internalen" bzw. "doppelt externalen" Typen, dem des "Nay-sayer" und "Type thought not to exist". Es zeigten sich wenig signifikante Unterschiede im Hinblick auf Lebensqualität oder emotionale Belastungen. Die Zusammenhänge zwischen emotionalem Befinden und Krankheitsverarbeitung wurden mit kreuzvalidierten, multiplen Regressionsanalysen untersucht. Dabei leistete der Autoregressor jeweils einen wesentlichen Beitrag zur Varianzaufklärung des Kriteriums. Insgesamt scheinen die Bewältigungsstrategien das emotionale Befinden vorwiegend in den distalen Modellen zu beeinflussen, während in den proximalen Modellen auch Einflüsse des Karnofsky-Indexes bestehen. Da sich in der vorliegenden Untersuchung wie auch bei Filipp et al., 1989 und Faller et al., 1994b die Zusammenhänge für die verschiedenen Kriterien und Prädiktoren unterschiedlich darstellten, sollten kausale Beziehungen zwischen Coping und Befinden für jede Krankheitsverarbeitungsform bzw. jedes Adaptationskriterium separat überprüft werden. Die Verarbeitungsmechanismen erwiesen sich im matched-pair-Vergleich als relativ änderungsinvariant im untersuchten Sechs-Monatszeitraum. Dies widerspricht der These von Faller, 1988, nach der es sich bei subjektiven Krankheitstheorien um situationsabhängige Argumentationsprozesse handelt, wie auch der von Lohaus, 1992 beschriebenen Variabilität von Kontrollüberzeugungen. Die Krankheitsverarbeitung könnte mit Persönlichkeitsmerkmalen in Verbindung stehen, was künftige Studien untersuchen sollten. Möglicherweise kann die Unterscheidung zwischen natur- und handlungskausalen Attributionen künftig sowohl bei der Skalierung als auch bei der Identifikation einer Risikogruppe von Patienten behilflich sein, die einer besonderen psychotherapeutischen Unterstützung bedürfen

"Mein Herz hat mich nie im Stich gelassen!" Innere Bilder im Prozess der Inkorporation einestransplantierten Herzens

Harvey's modern insight into the archetypal idea of the heart as the centre of blood motion transforms the heart into a machine which becomes a spare part interchangeable from any chest to any other {[}Hillman]. As we try to show in the case of Elmar, a 41-year-old technician 2 years after his transplantation, the possibilities of cardiac surgery and its archetypal foundations do not exclude a personalized and symbolic vision of both the `old' heart and the `new' one. Intrapersonal and therapeutic issues of this `inter-cardiac conflict' are discussed

Physical compared to mental diseases as reasons for committing suicide: a retrospective study

Background: Several studies investigated the relationship between mental disorders and suicidal ideation. However, little is known about physical illnesses being the major trigger for committed suicides. It is necessary to understand these risk factors to be able to meet the needs of patients in a palliative care setting. Methods: Suicide, medical and police notes were retrospectively analysed from all autopsies conducted in 2009-11 at the University of Munich, Germany. Documented reasons for suicide were classified into a "physical disease" (PD) or "mental disease" (MD) group and compared with respect to their sociodemographic characteristics and autopsy outcomes. Results: Of all 1069 cases, 18.9 % gave a PD as reason for committing suicide (MD, 32.7 %). Those indicating PD were older than MD (68.8 vs. 48.7 years;p < 0.001) with more men being in this group (72.8 % vs. 59.1 %;p=0.002). In PD, 30.7 % suffered from cancer, 28.7 % from chronic pain and 12.4 % from lung disease. 38.8 % of MD and 12.4 % of PD had previous suicide attempts. Conclusions: In palliative care, it is necessary to screen patients on a regular basis for suicidal ideation, especially those with previous suicide attempts

Physical compared to mental diseases as reasons for committing suicide: a retrospective study

Background: Several studies investigated the relationship between mental disorders and suicidal ideation. However, little is known about physical illnesses being the major trigger for committed suicides. It is necessary to understand these risk factors to be able to meet the needs of patients in a palliative care setting. Methods: Suicide, medical and police notes were retrospectively analysed from all autopsies conducted in 2009-11 at the University of Munich, Germany. Documented reasons for suicide were classified into a "physical disease" (PD) or "mental disease" (MD) group and compared with respect to their sociodemographic characteristics and autopsy outcomes. Results: Of all 1069 cases, 18.9 % gave a PD as reason for committing suicide (MD, 32.7 %). Those indicating PD were older than MD (68.8 vs. 48.7 years;p < 0.001) with more men being in this group (72.8 % vs. 59.1 %;p=0.002). In PD, 30.7 % suffered from cancer, 28.7 % from chronic pain and 12.4 % from lung disease. 38.8 % of MD and 12.4 % of PD had previous suicide attempts. Conclusions: In palliative care, it is necessary to screen patients on a regular basis for suicidal ideation, especially those with previous suicide attempts

Meaning in life and perceived quality of life in Switzerland: results of a representative survey in the German, French and Italian regions

Background: The concept of meaning in life (MIL) has become a central one in recent years, particularly in psycho-oncology and palliative care. The Schedule for Meaning in Life Evaluation (SMILE) has been developed to allow individuals to choose the life areas that they consider to be important for their own MIL. This approach relates to the "World Health Organisation" definition of quality of life (QOL) as an individual's perception of his own position. The aims of this study were (i) to assess MIL in a representative sample of the Swiss population according to the three linguistic regions and (ii) to evaluate whether MIL constitutes a significant determinant of the perceived QOL. Methods: A telephone survey of the Swiss population, performed by a professional survey company, was conducted between November and December 2013. The interview included the SMILE, perceived QOL (0-10) and health status (1-5),and various sociodemographic variables. In the SMILE, an index of weighting (IOW, 20-100),an index of satisfaction (IOS, 0-100),and a total SMILE index (IOWS, 0-100) are calculated from the areas mentioned by the participants as providing MIL. Results: Among the 6671 telephonic contacts realized, 1015 (15 %) participants completed the survey: 405 French, 400 German and 210 Italian participants. "Family" (80.2 %),"occupation/work" (51 %),and "social relations" (43.3 %) were the most cited MIL-relevant categories. Italian participants listed "health" more frequently than German and French participants (50.4 % vs 31.5 % and 24.8 % respectively, chi(2) = 12.229, p = .002). Age, gender, education, employment, and marital status significantly influenced either the MIL scores or the MIL-relevant categories. Linear regression analyses indicate that 24.3 % of the QOL variance (p = .000) is explained by health status (B = .609, IC = .490-.728, p = .000),MIL (B = .034, IC = .028-.041, p = .000) and socioeconomic status (F = 11.01, p = .000). Conclusion: The major finding of our analysis highlights the positive and significant influence of MIL on the perceived QOL in a representative sample of a general, multilingual and multicultural population. This result indicates that the existential dimension is not only determinant for QOL in some critical life events, as shown e.g. in psycho-oncology and palliative care, but also in everyday life

Individual meaning in life assessed with the Schedule for Meaning in Life Evaluation: toward a circumplex meaning model

AbstractObjective:The experience of “meaning in life” (MiL) is a major aspect of life satisfaction and psychological well-being. To assess this highly individual construct, idiographic measures with open-response formats have been developed. However, it can be challenging to categorize these individual experiences for interindividual comparisons. Our study aimed to derive MiL categories from individual listings and develop an integrative MiL model.Method:University students were asked to rate 58 MiL providing aspects recently found in a nationwide study using the Schedule for Meaning in Life Evaluation (SMiLE), an MiL instrument allowing for open responses. Pearson's correlations and factor analyses were used to test the unidimensionality of subsequently derived higher-order MiL categories. Multidimensional scaling, cluster analysis, and factor analysis were performed to further analyze a latent MiL structure.Results:A total of 340 students participated in the study. Some 11 unidimensional categories consisting of 34 meaning-providing aspects were summarized into a circumplex model with four MiL domains: leisure/health, work/finances, culture/spirituality, and relationships (family, partnership, social relations).Significance of results:This model seems to incorporate a major portion of individual respondent-generated MiL listings. It may be useful for future idiographic MiL studies to help organize individual experiences of MiL and allow for higher-level interindividual comparisons. Further studies including different samples are necessary to confirm this model or derive other MiL domains, for example, in palliative care patients or patients who are confronted with a loss of meaning.</jats:sec

The feasibility and acceptability of short-term, individual existential behavioural therapy for informal caregivers of patients recruited in a specialist palliative care unit

Background: Existential behavioural therapy ( EBT) is a recently developed intervention to support informal caregivers of patients in a specialist palliative care unit and was initially established as a six-session group programme. This pilot study aimed to test the feasibility and acceptability of an adapted short-term, individual approach of EBT in preparation for a randomized controlled trial ( RCT). Methods: The study was conducted in a prospective, mixed methods design including four quantitiative assessments with embedded qualitative interviews at one assessment. The intervention offered two one-hour therapeutic sessions focusing on ( 1) mindfulness and ( 2) existential meaning-in-life as a source of strength provided by a trained psychotherapist. To test the feasibility of the intervention, doubling of the participation rate, compared to the previous group study ( 13,6 %) as well as an attrition rate of less than 30 % were set as thresholds. To test the acceptability of the intervention, self-rated usefulness of individual aspects of the intervention and the frequency of implementing therapeutic elements by the carers were set as criteria. Acceptability testing also included the number of participants who completed both sessions, where we expected more than 75 % as a criterion for acceptability. Return rates of quantitative questionnaires were set as criteria for the feasibility of data collection (<33 % loss expected within the study period). Qualitative interviews were used to collect additional data on feasibililty and acceptability and to explore potential harms and benefits of the intervention. Results: 44/102 ( 43,1 %) of eligible informal caregivers agreed to participate in the study. Due to attrition of 13 caregivers ( attrition rate: 29,5 %), 31 caregivers were included in the trial. Self-rated usefulness showed sufficiant results for all but one individual aspect. Frequency of implementing therapeutic elements showed wide inter-item as well as inter-participant ranges and decreased over the study period. All participants completed both sessions. Return rates of the questionnaires were within the expected range. According to the interviews, the intervention was associated with several participant-identified benefits. No severe adverse effects were observed. Conclusions: Findings suggest that the short-term, individual EBT proved feasible and mostly acceptable

Existential behavioral therapy for informal caregivers of palliative patients: Barriers and promoters of support utilization

AbstractObjective:Several interventions have been developed during recent years to support informal caregivers of palliative patients. However, these trials reported low enrollment rates. Employing a newly developed group intervention, existential behavioral therapy (EBT), one study reported that only 13.6% of approached informal caregivers participated. The purpose of our present study was to identify the reasons for this low enrollment rate in order to improve future support designs.Method:All participants in the EBT trial (intervention vs. standard-care control group) as well as those who declined participation during a 4-month recruitment period were studied prospectively over 12 months. Andersen's behavioral model of healthcare service use was employed to identify group differences between acceptors and decliners: predisposing (age, gender, education, family status, relationship), enabling (social support, distance to hospital, caring vs. bereaved), and need factors (psychological distress, quality of life) were evaluated in a binary-logistic model.Results:Some 94 decliners were compared to 160 EBT participants (n = 81 intervention, n = 79 control). Caregivers who took part were significantly more distressed and suffered from a lower quality of life compared to decliners. Not only these need factors but also predisposing (age &lt;55 years) and enabling (use of social/professional support, familiarity with caregiving institution) factors were associated with EBT utilization. At the 12-month follow-up, EBT intervention participants reported greater quality of life improvements than decliners or controls (p = 0.05). While all groups had mean anxiety scores below the cutoff at 12-month follow-up, decliners showed better improvement in anxiety compared to EBT participants (intervention p = 0.04, controls p = 0.03).Significance of results:On average, decliners are less burdened: they may be more resilient, may have better coping strategies, or already have a sufficient support network in place. Screening caregivers with regard to their experienced quality of life and targeting those in need, especially younger caregivers with low levels of quality of life, may help to allocate resources more appropriately.</jats:sec