A RANDOMIZED COMPARISON OF 2 FORMS OF A BRIEF, GROUP, PSYCHOEDUCATIONAL PROGRAM FOR CANCER-PATIENTS - WEEKLY SESSIONS VERSUS WEEKEND INTENSIVE

There is considerable evidence that brief group psychoeducational prog rams for cancer patients, offering support and some training in coping skills, may have lasting beneficial effects on mood and quality of li fe. Objective: to compare two different formats of a brief, group psyc hoeducational program for cancer patients; a standard format of six we ekly two-hour sessions or a ''weekend intensive,'' involving the same content and contact time compressed into two days. Method: Cancer pati ents were randomly assigned to either the standard weekly intervention (n = 77) or the weekend program (n = 79). Two assessment measures wer e used: Profile of Mood States (POMS) and Functional Living Index for Cancer (FLIC). Assessments were made before and after each interventio n and at a nineteen-week follow-up. Results: While the two formats wer e found to be equivalent in their overall effects on mood and quality of life, there were some differences. There was a sudden, large improv ement in mood by the end of the weekend version of the course (2-day t ime point) but this did not persist, and by the six-week point and aga in at nineteen-weeks, mood improvement was the same for both groups. Q uality of life improvement seemed to be marginally greater with the si x-weekly sessions (reaching statistical significance at the 6-week poi nt). Conclusions: The two formats produced similar improvements in bot h mood and quality of life. We discuss the need for further studies to find optimal ways of presenting such help for different patient group s.