Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Feb 1, 2021
Date Accepted: Oct 5, 2021
Date Submitted to PubMed: Nov 30, 2021
Effectiveness of a mobile device-based resilience training programme in reducing depressive symptoms and enhancing resilience and quality of life in parents of children with cancer: Randomised controlled trial
ABSTRACT
Background:
Caring for children with cancer can be a stressful experience for parents and may have negative effects on their physical and psychological well-being. Although evidence has shown that resilience is associated with positive psychological well-being, few interventions have been specifically designed to enhance the resilience of parents of children with cancer.
Objective:
To examine the effectiveness of a mobile device-based resilience training programme in reducing depressive symptoms and enhancing resilience and quality of life in the parents of children with cancer.
Methods:
Parents of children with a diagnosis of cancer were recruited from paediatric oncology wards of three tertiary hospitals in China. The participants were randomly assigned either to the experimental group (n=52) to undergo an 8-week mobile device-based resilience training programme or to the control group (n=51) to receive an 8-week programme of placebo information. The study outcomes included resilience, depressive symptoms and quality of life, as measured by the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, the Self-Rating Depression Scale and the Short Form of Six-Dimension Health Survey, respectively. All data were collected at baseline and at 2 and 6 months of follow-up. The data analysis followed the intention-to-treat principle. The generalised estimating equation was used to examine the effects of the intervention.
Results:
The participants were mostly female (69.9%), and their mean age was 33.6 years. The participants in the experimental group showed significantly higher levels of resilience (67.96±15.8 vs 58.27±19.0; P<.001) and lower levels of depressive symptoms (40.17±9.9 vs 46.04±10.9; P<.001) than those in the control group at 6 months of follow-up. The intervention showed statistically significant effects in improving resilience (β=6.082; P=.010) and decreasing depressive symptoms (β=−2.772; P=.041) relative to the control group. The quality of life score in the experimental group was higher than that in the control group at 6 months of follow-up (0.79±0.2 vs 0.76±0.3; P=.074), but no statistically significant intervention effect was detected (β=0.020; P=.383).
Conclusions:
The mobile device-based resilience training programme effectively enhanced resilience and alleviated depressive symptoms in the parents of children with cancer. It is highly recommended that healthcare professionals incorporate this resilience training programme when providing psychological care for parents of children with cancer. Clinical Trial: Clinical.Trials.gov, NCT04038242.
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