Breast Cancer and Dyadic Psychosexual Well-Being

描述（由申请人提供）：有强有力的经验证据表明，乳腺癌的诊断和治疗与幸存者及其伴侣的性心理脆弱性有关。性欲和亲密度的下降以及情绪困扰的增加在关系中很常见。本评价研究的主要目的是评估在控制条件下的干预措施的有效性，该干预措施旨在通过影响应对策略来促进性心理健康并降低诊断为乳腺癌的伴侣二分体中合并症的发生率。样本将包括50名绝经前I期或II期乳腺癌妇女及其伴侣，他们被随机分为干预组和对照组。根据我们的理论模型，干预的目标是应对行为，结果是性心理适应，包括性功能、亲密关系、抑郁和焦虑。干预将在疾病轨迹的早期进行，即诊断后4个月，我们将在干预前（T1）、干预完成后（T2）和诊断后6个月（T3）获得基线数据。心理教育干预将包括3次会议，重点是沟通，性功能问题，增加亲密和支持，以及应对情绪困扰。分析将评估结果和干预措施在促进乳腺癌患者性心理健康方面的有效性。这项研究将由一个跨学科的团队进行，其中包括来自护理，心理学，肿瘤学，外科和统计学的专业知识。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): There is strong empirical evidence that the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer are associated with psychosexual vulnerability for both the survivor and her partner. A decrease in libido and intimacy and an increase in emotional distress are common within the relationship. The primary purpose of this evaluation study is to assess the effectiveness under controlled conditions of an intervention designed to promote psychosexual well-being and decrease the incidence of co-morbidity in the partner dyad following a diagnosis of breast cancer by affecting coping strategies. The sample will include 50 pre-menopausal women with stage I or II breast cancer and their partners who are randomized into intervention and control groups. Given our theoretical model, the target of intervention will be coping behavior with the outcome being psychosexual adaptation, which includes sexual functioning, intimacy, depression and anxiety. The intervention will take place early in the illness trajectory, 4 months following diagnosis, and we will obtain data at baseline prior to the intervention (T1), immediately following completion of the intervention (T2), and 6 months following diagnosis (T3). The psychoeducational intervention will include 3 sessions that focus on communication, problems of sexual functioning, increasing intimacy and support, and coping with emotional distress. Analyses will evaluate the outcome and the effectiveness of the intervention in promoting psychosexual wellbeing within the dyad living with breast cancer. The study will be conducted by an interdisciplinary team that includes expertise from nursing, psychology, oncology, surgery, and statistics.