1. Tailored Sailing Experience to Reduce Psychological Distress and Improve the Quality of Life of Breast Cancer Survivors: A Survey-Based Pilot Study
- Author
-
Mirca Marini, Maria Grazia Muraca, Daniela Mirandola, Giovanna Franchi, Alice Maruelli, Manuela Vinci, Mirko Manetti, and Guido Miccinesi
- Subjects
medicine.medical_specialty ,Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis ,lcsh:Medicine ,Breast Neoplasms ,Pilot Projects ,Computer-assisted web interviewing ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Breast cancer ,breast cancer ,Quality of life ,psychological distress ,Surveys and Questionnaires ,Intervention (counseling) ,sailing ,Humans ,Medicine ,Distress Thermometer ,cancer survivors ,Survivors ,030212 general & internal medicine ,Ships ,business.industry ,Communication ,lcsh:R ,Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health ,Psychological distress ,medicine.disease ,humanities ,quality of life ,030220 oncology & carcinogenesis ,Psychological well-being ,Cancer rehabilitation ,Physical therapy ,psychological well-being ,Female ,business ,Stress, Psychological ,Sports - Abstract
Background: Growing evidence indicates that physical/sporting activities may improve the health outcomes and quality of life (QoL) of breast cancer (BC) survivors. Since recent reports have suggested that sailing can improve the psychophysical well-being and QoL of people with disabilities, this pilot study evaluated the effectiveness of a tailored sailing experience on the QoL and psychological distress (PD) of BC survivors. Methods: A group of 19 breast cancer survivors, who were attending the Cancer Rehabilitation Center in Florence, were invited to participate in a sailing school and completed a survey based on a structured online questionnaire assessing QoL and PD both on departure (baseline) and one week after returning (follow-up). The survey comprised a first part (i.e., sociodemographic characteristics and the practice of physical/sporting activities at baseline; sailing experience satisfaction at follow-up) and a second part (i.e., Short Form-12 (SF-12), State/Trait-Anxiety Inventory form Y (STAI-Y), distress thermometer questionnaires). A paired Student’s t-test was used to compare the baseline versus follow-up QoL and PD scores. Results: A statistically significant improvement in SF-12 mental component scores and a reduction in both STAI-Y state/trait components and distress thermometer scores were found after the sailing experience. Conclusions: We conclude that sailing practice could be a feasible intervention to increase the psychophysical well-being of BC survivors.
- Published
- 2020