PMID- 33738593 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DCOM- 20211015 LR - 20220218 IS - 1433-7339 (Electronic) IS - 0941-4355 (Print) IS - 0941-4355 (Linking) VI - 29 IP - 10 DP - 2021 Oct TI - A structured expressive writing activity targeting body image-related distress among head and neck cancer survivors: who do we reach and what are the effects? PG - 5763-5776 LID - 10.1007/s00520-021-06114-y [doi] AB - PURPOSE: The aim of this pretest-posttest study was to investigate the reach and effects of My Changed Body (MyCB), an expressive writing activity based on self-compassion, among head and neck cancer (HNC) survivors. METHODS: This pilot study had a pretest-posttest design. HNC survivors received an invitation to complete a baseline survey on body image-related distress. At the end of the survey, HNC survivors were asked if they were interested in the intervention study. This entailed the writing activity and a survey 1 week and 1 month post-intervention. The reach was calculated by dividing the number of participants in the intervention study, by the number of (1) eligible HNC survivors and (2) those who filled in the baseline survey. Linear mixed models were used to analyze the effect on body image-related distress. Logistic regression analysis was used to investigate factors associated with the reach and reduced body image-related distress. MyCB was evaluated using study-specific questions. RESULTS: The reach of MyCB was 15-33% (depending on reference group) and was associated with lower education level, more social eating problems, and fewer wound healing problems. Among the 87 participants, 9 (10%) showed a clinically relevant improvement in body image-related distress. No significant effect on body image-related distress was found. Self-compassion improved significantly during follow-up until 1 month post-intervention (p=0.003). Users rated satisfaction with MyCB as 7.2/10. CONCLUSION: MyCB does not significantly improve body image-related distress, but is likely to increase self-compassion, which sustains for at least 1 month. CI - (c) 2021. The Author(s). FAU - Melissant, Heleen C AU - Melissant HC AUID- ORCID: 0000-0003-1372-9442 AD - Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, de Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. AD - Cancer Center Amsterdam (CCA), Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. AD - Department of Clinical, Neuro- and Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Behavioral and Movement Sciences, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. FAU - Jansen, Femke AU - Jansen F AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-0111-0557 AD - Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, de Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. f.jansen1@amsterdamumc.nl. AD - Cancer Center Amsterdam (CCA), Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. f.jansen1@amsterdamumc.nl. AD - Department of Clinical, Neuro- and Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Behavioral and Movement Sciences, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. f.jansen1@amsterdamumc.nl. FAU - Eerenstein, Simone E J AU - Eerenstein SEJ AUID- ORCID: 0000-0001-8409-1146 AD - Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, de Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. FAU - Cuijpers, Pim AU - Cuijpers P AUID- ORCID: 0000-0001-5497-2743 AD - Department of Clinical, Neuro- and Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Behavioral and Movement Sciences, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. FAU - Lissenberg-Witte, Birgit I AU - Lissenberg-Witte BI AUID- ORCID: 0000-0001-9448-1826 AD - Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. FAU - Sherman, Kerry A AU - Sherman KA AUID- ORCID: 0000-0001-7780-6668 AD - Centre for Emotional Health, Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. FAU - Laan, Ellen T M AU - Laan ETM AUID- ORCID: 0000-0001-6084-9207 AD - Department of Sexology and Psychosomatic OBGYN, Amsterdam UMC, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. FAU - Leemans, C Rene AU - Leemans CR AUID- ORCID: 0000-0001-7887-083X AD - Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, de Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. FAU - Verdonck-de Leeuw, Irma M AU - Verdonck-de Leeuw IM AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-4507-4607 AD - Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, de Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. AD - Cancer Center Amsterdam (CCA), Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. AD - Department of Clinical, Neuro- and Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Behavioral and Movement Sciences, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. LA - eng PT - Journal Article DEP - 20210318 PL - Germany TA - Support Care Cancer JT - Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer JID - 9302957 SB - IM MH - *Body Image MH - *Head and Neck Neoplasms/therapy MH - Humans MH - Pilot Projects MH - Quality of Life MH - Survivors MH - Writing PMC - PMC8410700 OTO - NOTNLM OT - Body image OT - Expressive writing OT - Head and neck cancer OT - Health-related quality of life OT - Self-compassion COIS- The authors declare no competing interests. EDAT- 2021/03/20 06:00 MHDA- 2021/10/16 06:00 PMCR- 2021/03/18 CRDT- 2021/03/19 07:34 PHST- 2020/10/30 00:00 [received] PHST- 2021/02/26 00:00 [accepted] PHST- 2021/03/20 06:00 [pubmed] PHST- 2021/10/16 06:00 [medline] PHST- 2021/03/19 07:34 [entrez] PHST- 2021/03/18 00:00 [pmc-release] AID - 10.1007/s00520-021-06114-y [pii] AID - 6114 [pii] AID - 10.1007/s00520-021-06114-y [doi] PST - ppublish SO - Support Care Cancer. 2021 Oct;29(10):5763-5776. doi: 10.1007/s00520-021-06114-y. Epub 2021 Mar 18.