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: Objective: Rural cancer caregivers report poor wellbeing and high unmet needs for support. This study investigates sources of support sought by cancer caregivers living in rural Australia, and factors associated with support‐seeking. Methods: Informal caregivers of people with cancer completed a questionnaire assessing sociodemographic characteristics, caregiver factors and support‐seeking. Descriptive statistics, bivariate analyses and logistic regression were used to identify common sources of support and factors associated with support‐seeking. Alluvial and radar plots were used to identify and describe support‐seeking profiles. Findings: Of 244 rural caregivers, 64% reported seeking support for themselves, 72% for the cancer patient, and 22% did not seek any support. The most common sources of support were general practitioners and online. Higher caregiver burden, higher income, caring for someone with anxiety/depression or caring for someone who has difficulty completing their usual activities were associated with seeking support from a greater number of sources. The ‘No support‐seekers’ profile had the highest proportions of caregivers who were male, caring for someone Conclusions: Many rural caregivers seek support for themselves and the cancer patient, commonly from medical and online sources. Implications for public health: Further work may be needed to reduce caregiver burden and support caregivers who are male, caring for someone recently diagnosed, and those with lower incomes., Following a cancer diagnosis, family members and friends often become informal caregivers, helping with activities of daily living, medical care and follow‐up, and providing emotional and social support.[sup.1,2] While some [...]

: Objective: This study aimed to understand how cancer survivors in rural Queensland seek and receive information, as well as their preferences regarding the content and delivery of health?related information. Methods: This study explored cancer survivors? experiences in seeking and comprehending health information using a qualitative descriptive approach. Semi?structured interviews were conducted with 24 participants. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results: Two major themes and six sub?themes were identified including 1) information content and gaps ? a) information about diagnosis and treatment, b) survivorship information gaps and c) practical support needs and 2) delivery and acceptance of information ? a) sources of information, b) personalised information needs and c) information seeking or avoidance. Findings suggested that health information provision was inconsistent; survivors? attitudes towards seeking information varied greatly; and survivors? had difficulty processing information due to emotional distress. Conclusion: The role of the health professional is critical in providing information and support to rural cancer survivors. Information provided should be tailored to meet the needs and preferences of individuals taking into consideration demographic factors and attitudes. Implications for public health: The current findings imply that quality information provision after cancer treatment would facilitate improvements in satisfaction among rural cancer survivors., Cancer is a significant public health issue in Australia, as it is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity.[sup.1] The provision of health information and the degree to which individuals [...]

Frequency-domain near-infrared spectroscopy (FD-NIRS) has been used for non-invasive assessment of cortical oxygenation since the late 1990s. However, there is limited research demonstrating clinical validity and general reproducibility. To address this limitation, recording duration for adequate validity and within- and between-day reproducibility of prefrontal cortical oxygenation was evaluated. To assess validity, a reverse analysis of 10-min-long measurements (n = 52) at different recording durations (1–10-min) was quantified via coefficients of variation and Bland–Altman plots. To assess within- and between-day within-subject reproducibility, participants (n = 15) completed 2-min measurements twice a day (morning/afternoon) for five consecutive days. While 1-min recordings demonstrated sufficient validity for the assessment of oxygen saturation (StO2) and total hemoglobin concentration (THb), recordings ≥4 min revealed greater clinical utility for oxy- (HbO) and deoxyhemoglobin (HHb) concentration. Females had lower StO2, THb, HbO, and HHb values than males, but variability was approximately equal between sexes. Intraclass correlation coefficients ranged from 0.50–0.96. The minimal detectable change for StO2 was 1.15% (95% CI: 0.336–1.96%) and 3.12 µM for THb (95% CI: 0.915–5.33 µM) for females and 2.75% (95%CI: 0.807–4.70%) for StO2 and 5.51 µM (95%CI: 1.62–9.42 µM) for THb in males. Overall, FD-NIRS demonstrated good levels of between-day reliability. These findings support the application of FD-NIRS in field-based settings and indicate a recording duration of 1 min allows for valid measures; however, data recordings of ≥4 min are recommended when feasible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PurposeThe term cancer survivor can refer to individuals from diagnosis through the rest of their life. However, not all people with cancer identify as a survivor, and underlying factors and correlates are yet to be well-explored empirically.MethodsStudy 1 surveyed men in a prostate cancer peer support network (n = 514), exploring psychosocial variables related to adopting a survivor identity. Study 2 interviewed 160 women with breast cancer in an online support group and collected observational data, assessing how survivor identity relates to perceptions of and participation in online support groups.ResultsFor men, survivor identity (35 %) was related to lower levels of threat appraisal (p = .000), more deliberate rumination (p = .042), gaining greater understanding of cancer experience through peers (p = .041) and a higher, though marginally significant, level of posttraumatic growth (p = .052). Women adopting a survivor identity (50 %) had higher rates of online support group posts (p = .048), a greater feeling of mattering to the group (p = .002), rated the group as more helpful (p = .004 to .01) and had less difficulty in relating to the group (p = .002) than women not identifying as a survivor.ConclusionsSurvivor identity was related to active and positive engagement with peers, and cognitive processing.Implications for cancer survivorsWhile the cancer survivor metaphor may be salient for some people diagnosed with cancer, many did not associate with the term, highlighting the complexity surrounding survivorship discourse and the need to be sensitive to unique individual needs in psychosocial interventions that involve groups.