1. Psycho-Oncology / Recover your smile : effects of a beauty care intervention on depressive symptoms, quality of life, and selfesteem in patients with early breast cancer
- Author
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Nadia Harbeck, Anna Richard, Frank H. Wilhelm, and Rachel Wuerstlein
- Subjects
Paper ,Adult ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Psychological intervention ,Psycho-oncology ,Experimental and Cognitive Psychology ,Breast Neoplasms ,Cosmetics ,psychosocial intervention ,03 medical and health sciences ,Beauty ,0302 clinical medicine ,Breast cancer ,appearance‐related side effects ,breast cancer ,Quality of life ,Intervention (counseling) ,medicine ,Body Image ,Humans ,030212 general & internal medicine ,business.industry ,Depression ,Middle Aged ,medicine.disease ,Self Concept ,patientreported outcomes ,supportive care ,Psychiatry and Mental health ,Distress ,Hair loss ,Treatment Outcome ,psycho‐oncology ,030220 oncology & carcinogenesis ,Papers ,oncology ,Physical therapy ,Quality of Life ,psycho-oncology ,Female ,cancer distress ,business ,patient‐reported outcomes ,Psychosocial ,Follow-Up Studies ,appearancerelated side effects ,beauty care intervention - Abstract
Objective Medical cancer treatment is often accompanied by appearance‐related side effects such as hair loss, skin irritation, and paleness, which can subsequently lead to psychosocial distress. Initial evidence suggests that beauty care interventions may reduce distress and improve quality of life (QoL), body image, and self‐esteem immediately. Methods We investigated the effects of a brief beauty care intervention on self‐reported symptoms of depression, quality of life, body image, and self‐esteem in 39 female primary breast cancer patients with appearance‐related treatment side effects. Patients were randomly assigned either to an immediate intervention group (IG) or to a wait‐list control (WL). The intervention consisted of a single‐session group makeup workshop, a photo shooting, and of receiving professionally edited portrait and upper‐body photos. Results While groups did not differ regarding any measure at the pretreatment baseline assessment, IG patients reported less symptoms of depression, higher QoL, and higher self‐esteem compared with baseline and compared with WL. Follow‐up at 8 weeks indicated moderate stability of these improvements. Conclusions In contrast to previous research, results indicate beneficial short‐term and midterm effects of beauty care on psychological outcomes in patients with early breast cancer. These results emphasize the utility of this type of brief, low‐cost intervention in women undergoing medical cancer treatment in order to improve their well‐being.
- Published
- 2019