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Background and purpose: We developed the Melacare nurse-led intervention, which combines education in skin self-examination as a resource-conscious approach to detecting recurrence and management of fear of cancer recurrence in patients treated for melanoma. This publication presents the Melacare study protocol and evaluates the feasibility and acceptability of Melacare prior to a larger randomised controlled trial. Material and methods: Feasibility and acceptability of Melacare were evaluated in an intervention-only feasibility study, in which patients attended two nurse-led intervention sessions coupled with an educational booklet. Participants completed patient-reported outcome (PRO) questionnaires at baseline and before each session. After the intervention, participants completed a study-specific feedback questionnaire. Feasibility was evaluated in terms of recruitment, adherence, and attendance. Self-reported outcomes from the study-specific questionnaire on intervention effects were also collected. Results of the feasibility study: Fourteen patients (nine stage IA, five stage IB melanoma) participated. Attendance and recruitment rates were 100%, all participants completed the baseline and PRO questionnaires, and 100% read at least half of the educational booklet. In terms of intervention effects, all patients reported improved knowledge of performing skin self-examination and coping with the fear of cancer recurrence. Interpretation: Results indicate that the Melacare nurse-led intervention is highly feasible and acceptable for use with patients treated for early-stage melanoma. Prior to clinical trial commencement, minor refinements include changing the method of recruiting by telephone and offering

In times of digitalization, analyzing the highly complex media practices and mediated life worlds of individuals has become highly challenging, both in theoretical and methodological terms. From an empirical point of view, diary methods, and particularly qualitative (media) diaries, bear a great potential to gain access to these media practices and analyze them within the contexts of people’s everyday lives. In this article, we propose that it is fruitful to apply the characteristics of real diaries to research settings and consider them when designing diary studies as a researcher. Doing so can help to collect more “genuine” data and get a more holistic and adequate picture of digital media life. These characteristics comprise: (1) authenticity and naturalness, (2) autonomy in design, (3) multimodality and materiality, (4) intrinsic motivation, (5) functionalities of diary keeping, (6) continuity and periodicity, as well as (7) inferences about cultural and social conditions. We provide suggestions for implementing these characteristics in qualitative diary studies, and discuss the empirical challenges accompanying this approach.

Vor dem Hintergrund des Bedeutungsverlusts kommunikationswissenschaftlicher Perspektiven in der Öffentlichkeit und der gegenwärtigen gesellschaftlichen Herausforderungen setzt sich das Sonderheft mit der Breite der Bedeutung von Kritik in der Kommunikationswissenschaft auseinander: mit Kritik an, in und durch die Kommunikationswissenschaft. Einleitend werden vier zentrale Dimensionen von Kritik hinsichtlich Theorien, Methoden, Forschungsgegenständen und dem disziplinären Selbstverständnis der Kommunikationswissenschaft skizziert. Es wird deutlich, dass in einer digital transformierten Welt die Kommunikationswissenschaft auf die Entwicklung und damit den Wandel ihrer theoretischen wie methodischen Instrumente angewiesen ist, um angemessen verstehen und erklären zu können. Daran anknüpfend thematisieren und analysieren die Beiträge des Sonderhefts verschiedene relevante Aspekte und Fallbeispiele. Sie verdeutlichen aber auch weiterführende Fragen und Forschungsdesiderate.

Introduction Intimate partners of patients with cancer often experience significant distress, but there is a lack of psychological interventions that specifically target this population. ‘Resilient Caregivers’ is a novel resilience-based intervention for distressed partner cancer caregivers. The intervention was developed according to a resilience framework focusing on meta-reflective skills, coping strategies and value clarification. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of this intervention in a randomised trial.Methods and analysis Eighty participants will be invited through the Oncology Department at Herlev Hospital, Denmark and randomised to either the intervention or usual care. Participants are eligible if they are partners (married or unmarried) of patients diagnosed with cancer and experience distress (>4 on the distress thermometer). ‘Resilient Caregivers’ consists of seven manualised group sessions (2.5 hours each), focusing on resilience in relation to being a partner caregiver of a patient with cancer. The primary outcome is symptoms of anxiety, while secondary outcomes include distress, depression, quality of life, sleep quality and resilience. Data will be collected at baseline, 3, 6 and 12 months follow-up using validated scales, and analysed using mixed models for repeated measures.Ethics and dissemination This study will follow the ethical principles in the Declaration of Helsinki and has been reviewed by the Ethics Committee of the Capital Region of Denmark (Journal no. 18055373). Written informed consent will be obtained from all participants. Results will be reported through scientific peer-reviewed journals and relevant conferences.Trial registration number NCT04610034.

This paper aims to point out some important theoretical innovations of the theory of Communicative Constructivism, and seeks to show the benefits of using this concept as a basis of the work in Communication and Media Studies. I start by reviewing the impact-oriented concept of communication, which underlies the Communicative Constructivism. Then, in working through Social Constructivism, I demonstrate why the Communicative Constructivism switches from language and knowledge to communicative action as the basic operation of generating knowledge. In conclusion, I examine the production and interpretation of television programmes in an exemplary manner, and will highlight the advantages of understanding these as artefacts, as communicative gestures of a corporated actor.