Outcomes of social support programs in brain cancer survivors in an Australian community cohort: a prospective study

Abstract

This study evaluated the impact of social support programs on improving cancer related disability, neuro-cognitive dysfunction and enhancing participation (quality of life (QoL), social reintegration) in brain tumour (BT) survivors. Participants (n=43) were recruited prospectively following definitive treatment in the community. Each BT survivor received an individualised social support program which comprised: face-to-face interview for education/counselling plus peer support program or community education/counselling sessions. The assessments were at baseline (T1), 6-week (T2) and 6-month (T3) post-intervention using validated questionnaires: depression anxiety stress scale (DASS), functional independence measure (FIM), perceived impact problem profile (PIPP), cancer rehabilitation evaluation system–short form (CARES-SF), a cancer survivor unmet needs measure (CaSUN), McGill quality of life questionnaire (MQOL) and Brief COPE. Participants’ mean age was 53 years (range 31–72 years), the majority were female (72%); median time since BT diagnosis was 2.3 years and almost half (47%) had high grade tumours. At T2, participants reported higher emotional well-being (DASS ‘anxiety’ and ‘stress’ subscales, p<0.05; FIM ‘cognition’ subscale, p<0.01), improved function (FIM ‘motor’ subscale, p<0.01) and higher QoL (CARES-SF ‘global’ score, p<0.05; MQOL ‘physical symptom’ subscale, p<0.05). At the T3 follow-up, most of these effects were maintained. The intervention effect for BT specific coping strategies emerged for the Brief COPE ‘self-distraction’ and ‘behavioural disengagement’ domains, (p<0.05 for both). There were no adverse effects reported. A post-treatment social support program can improve physical and cognitive function and enhancing overall QoL of BT survivors. Social support programs need further evaluation and should be encouraged by clinicians within cancer rehabilitative services.