Vol. 18 No. 1 (2024)

  • Open Access

    Article

    Article ID: 3790

    La diplomation de patient•es partenaires en oncologie : un dispositif soutenant l’engagement du patient•e en oncologie

    by Lennize Pereira Paulo, Catherine Tourette-Turgis, Marie-Paule Vannier

    Psycho-Oncologie, Vol.18, No.1, 2024; 25 Views

    This article presents the history and challenges of patient graduation, positioning it as a means of supporting patient engagement and user involvement in the healthcare system. A set of laws related to patient rights and healthcare quality allows for the integration of patients into the healthcare system, but they face the unpreparedness of institutions in this new field of practices. Patient graduation requires transformations in the modes of reception and financing of universities, as well as in the pedagogical methods that need to be tailored to the reception and training of individuals in vulnerable situations. The article provides a detailed description of the example, history, and effects of the creation of the first open diploma in oncology for patient partners in France and concludes by emphasizing the need for concrete mechanisms for social recognition of user engagement in the healthcare system.

  • Open Access

    Article

    Article ID: 3791

    Des patients impliqués dans le financement de la recherche. Retour sur l’expérience inédite du groupe de travail ECLAIR du Cancéropôle CLARA

    by Julien Biaudet, Lisa Laroussi-Libeault, Mauricette Michallet, Laurie Panse, Raymond Merle

    Psycho-Oncologie, Vol.18, No.1, 2024; 9 Views

    This article aims to share an innovative experience of organizing and funding research involving those most directly affected: patients. The “ECLAIR” working group of the Canceropole Lyon Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes (CLARA) was created at the end of 2020 with the goal of contributing to the development of a call for projects on the patient experience in oncology, which was launched in January 2021. Initially composed of 8 members, including 7 patients, coordinated by a project manager from CLARA, the ECLAIR working group actively participated in drafting the specifications of the call for projects, developing the eligibility criteria for applications, revising the evaluation and selection criteria for projects, and monitoring the selected projects. This experience was repeated twice. With significant freedom of action, the working group made two decisions that strongly demonstrate the commitment to supporting research partnerships and the active involvement of those affected: firstly, by making partnership a mandatory requirement for the eligibility of applications, and secondly, by conducting the selection of projects themselves, after an independent scientific evaluation phase. Seeking to shed light on the “black box” of partnership, the article also presents the concrete modalities of interaction among the working group members, the adjustments made between different editions of the call for projects, and the relationships maintained with CLARA.

  • Open Access

    Article

    Article ID: 3792

    Pair-aidance en Oncologie : Etude Qualitative de la Perception des Soignants dans un Centre de Lutte Contre le Cancer

    by Guilhem Paillard-Brunet, Audrey Couillet

    Psycho-Oncologie, Vol.18, No.1, 2024; 21 Views

    This study aimed to gather healthcare professionals’ expectations and reluctance toward peer support in a cancer center. Semistructured interviews were conducted among 12 professionals, recruited in different professions. The interviews were fully transcribed, and a thematic analysis was then conducted. Of the data analysis, three main themes about professionals’ expectations emerged: the need for the strongest support of the patients, to break the isolation in the sickness, and to enhance the care system. Three main themes also emerged from the data analysis about professionals’ reluctances: the limitations related to the intervention of the peer-workers, the psychological issues of the relationship, and institutional barriers to the implementation of peer-support interventions. Our study shows that peer support could be a response to the expectations of healthcare professionals’, but its implementation should consider their reluctance.

  • Open Access

    Article

    Article ID: 3793

    Démocratie en santé et narration : une synthèse des connaissances

    by Rossi Silvia, Sandrine de Montgolfier, Joëlle Kivits

    Psycho-Oncologie, Vol.18, No.1, 2024; 5 Views

    Aims:  Health democracy requires tools and methodologies to involve non-scientific actors in the development and implementation of health policies. Storytelling could be one of the tools to make health democracy effective. Our aim is to describe how storytelling is used in relation to health democracy, the aims of its use, the methodology adopted and the results obtained.  Procedure:  We conducted a narrative review of the literature. Our search equation was composed by the keyword “narration” and its variations “récit de vie”, “histoire de vie” and “medécine narrative” and by the keyword “démocratie en santé” / “démocratie sanitaire”.  Results:  We obtained 135 results and included six articles, published between 2015 and 2022. The interest of storytelling in a health democracy approach concerns six main themes: a) the plurality of experiences; b) empowerment; c) the recognition of different types of knowledge; d) the involvement of all care actors in care; storytelling as a lever for change; e) in the care pathway; f) in health policies.  Conclusion:  The limited number of articles included in this literature review raises questions about the diffusion of the concept of health democracy associated with that of storytelling. Storytelling can contribute to the dissemination and effectiveness of health democracy: it is a complementary tool to quantitative tools for understanding the experiences of users of the health care system, and its use is particularly relevant to chronic diseases such as cancer.

  • Open Access

    Article

    Article ID: 3794

    Créativité et construction de l’identité professionnelle : réflexions et pratiques en onco - hématologie pédiatrique

    by Victoire Vigneron, Eugénie Gosset Grainville

    Psycho-Oncologie, Vol.18, No.1, 2024; 9 Views

    This article illustrates the clinical practice of psycho-oncology in a paediatric onco-haematology department by young psychologists. To begin with, we look at the role of the psychologist in a somatic department. Creativity in clinical work and the modulation of medical temporality. The aim here is to discuss the construction of the professional identity in relation to the construction of the therapeutic alliance with patients. Specifically, we will look at the relationship with creativity, which is necessary to support children and adolescents in their existential questioning. This work of creativity in the therapeutic alliance will be illustrated using two clinical cases that are particularly representative of clinical work centred on the relationship with finitude.

  • Open Access

    Article

    Article ID: 3796

    Evaluation de l’expression de la fatigue liée au cancer : comparant l’expression de la fatigue chez les patients atteints de cancer, chez les patients touchés par d’autres maladies chroniques et chez les individus en bonne santé

    by Maria Inês Clara, Maria Cristina Canavarro, Ana Severina, Susana Ramos, Carla Rafael, Ana Allen Gomes

    Psycho-Oncologie, Vol.18, No.1, 2024; 13 Views

    Aims:  We aimed to compare cancer survivors’ fatigue expression with that of the general population and examine psychobiological factors associated with fatigue.  Procedure:  In this quantitative, transversal study, we analyzed clinical and sociodemographic indicators of 389 participants (68.38% females): 148 cancer survivors on active treatment, 55 disease-free survivors, 75 patients with another chronic disease, and 111 healthy individuals.  Results:  Fatigue was expressed dissimilarly in patients with a previous history of cancer and participants without a history of cancer. Survivors on active treatment reported significantly higher levels of fatigue than the other clinical status groups. Nonetheless, some level of cancer-related fatigue persisted, in a similar pattern, after active treatment into the survivorship phase. Disease-free survivors showed significantly lower vigor levels when compared to patients with other chronic diseases. Psychological distress and daytime sleepiness emerged as transdiagnostic factors associated with fatigue.  Conclusion:  Cancer-related fatigue may have a unique pattern, characterized by reduced endurance and muscle weakness. In the present study, psychological distress and daytime sleepiness are associated with cancer-related fatigue. These findings suggest the pertinence of future studies examining whether interventions targeting those factors may help manage this burdensome complaint.

  • Open Access

    Article

    Article ID: 3797

    Effet modérateur de la perception de menace du cancer du sein sur la relation entre les connaissances et l’autopalpation

    by Carolle Annie Njopvoui, Armel Valdin Teague Tsopgny, Henri Rodrigue Njengoue Ngamaleu

    Psycho-Oncologie, Vol.18, No.1, 2024; 6 Views

    Estimated at more than 2.2 million cases worldwide, most breast cancer cases and deaths from breast cancer occur in low and middle-income countries. In Cameroon, many studies have underlined the effect of knowledge of breast cancer on screening measures such as self-examination and, to a lesser extent, the perception of the threat of this disease. This research aims to assess according to the Health Belief Model (HBM), the moderating effect of perceived threat of breast cancer on the relation between knowledge and breast self-examination. A questionnaire survey was conducted among 517 Cameroonian women to assess their general knowledge about breast cancer (risk factors and screening measures), their level of the perceived threat of breast cancer through Perceived susceptibility and severity, and the prevalence of breast self-examination amongst them. A regression analysis using the Macro Process for moderation indicates the main effect of Perceived threat ( b  = 0,29;  t (517) = 2,36;  p  = 0,02) of breast cancer and knowledge ( b  = 0,02;  t (517) = 4,29;  p  < 0,001) on breast self-examination. Results also confirm that the perceived threat of breast cancer moderates the effect of knowledge on breast self-examination. While the low level of perceived threat highlights the effect of knowledge on breast self-examination ( b  = 0,02;  t (517) = 3,49;  p  < 0,001), the high level of perceived threat cancels that effect ( b  = 0,01;  t (517) = 1,97;  p  = 0,01). A woman who perceives severity and susceptibility to breast cancer is more inclined to perform breast self-examination. This result suggests the importance of taking into account, in a context where knowledge of breast cancer is limited, relevant factors of the health belief model in preventive measures against breast cancer in general and the practice of breast self-examination in particular.

  • Open Access

    Article

    Article ID: 3798

    The Impact of Social Support on the Mental Health of Cancer Patients: Evidence from China

    by Wanxiu Zhu

    Psycho-Oncologie, Vol.18, No.1, 2024; 33 Views

    Exploring the relationship between social support and the mental health of cancer patients is a vital endeavor for enhancing mental well-being. The objective of this study was to explore the relationship between social support and psychological well-being in cancer patients and to provide new empirical evidence for psychological improvement in cancer patients. This research holds significant practical implications for optimizing China’s public health system and strengthening the development of a healthy China. Using data from the 2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) database, we empirically examined the influence of social support on the mental health of cancer patients. Models such as Ordered Probit and OLogit were used to provide empirical evidence and theoretical insights for enhancing the mental health of cancer patients in a context marked by a high prevalence of cancer. The findings indicated that both formal and informal social support mechanisms were effective in improving the mental health of cancer patients. Furthermore, we utilized the propensity score matching (PSM) model to eliminate the endogeneity issue associated with sample selectivity bias. The results obtained through PSM demonstrated robustness, underscoring the importance of addressing sample selectivity bias when assessing the impact of social support on the mental health of cancer patients. Therefore, the Chinese government is recommended to prioritize the use of social support as a means to proactively enhance the mental health of cancer patients, thereby continuously elevating their overall quality of life.