Allen C Sherman

• PhD
• Director at Winthrop P. Rockefellar Cancer Institute, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

Introduction: Minimal important change estimates (MIC) are useful for interpreting results of clinical research with quality of life (QoL) as an endpoint. For the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer head and neck cancer module, the EORTC QLQ-HN43, no such thresholds are established. Methods: Head and neck cancer patients und...

Daily airway clearance therapy (ACT) is a critical aspect of treatment in cystic fibrosis (CF), but poor adherence is a prominent concern. Identifying factors that might enhance or diminish adherence is a priority for treatment centers. Gratitude, a generalized tendency to notice and appreciate positive facets of experience, is a psychosocial resou...

Introduction: The extensive disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic have led to heightened concerns about mental health sequelae. There has been significant interest in identifying factors associated with psychosocial vulnerability or resilience. Aims: This study examined associations of trait gratitude with mental health difficulties among community...

Objective: Previous studies have examined whether spiritual well-being is associated with cancer outcomes, but minority populations are under-represented. This study examines associations of baseline spiritual well-being and change in spiritual well-being with change in distress and quality of life, and explores potential factors associated with c...

COVID-19 has created pervasive upheaval and uncertainty in communities around the world. This investigation evaluated associations between discrete dimensions of personal meaning and psychological adjustment to the pandemic among community residents in a southern US state. In this cross-sectional study, 544 respondents were assessed during a period...

Purpose The aim of this study was to explore what methods should be used to determine the minimal important difference (MID) and minimal important change (MIC) in scores for the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Head and Neck Cancer Module, the EORTC QLQ-HN43. Methods In an international multi-centre study, patients with h...

Individuals with cystic fibrosis (CF) face a challenging disease, and depression is a significant concern. Many patients draw on religious/spiritual resources to assist them in managing the demands of chronic illness; however, these coping efforts rarely have been evaluated among adults with CF. This longitudinal study examined relationships betwee...

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to pervasive social and economic disruptions. This cross-sectional investigation aimed to evaluate associations between religious/spiritual factors and mental health symptoms among community residents in a southern US state. In particular, we focused on perceptions of God's distance, a salient aspect of re...

Purpose The aim of this study was to explore what methods should be used to determine the minimal important difference (MID) and minimal important change (MIC) in scores for the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Head and Neck Cancer Module, the EORTC QLQ-HN43. Methods In an international multi-centre study, patients with he...

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a dramatic effect on the functioning of individuals and institutions around the world. This cross-sectional registry-based study examined some of the burdens of the pandemic, the prevalence of mental health difficulties, and risk factors for psychosocial morbidity among community residents in Arkansas. The study focuse...

Objective Spiritual well‐being (SpWb) is an important dimension of health‐related quality of life for many cancer patients. Accordingly, an increasing number of psychosocial intervention studies have included SpWb as a study endpoint, and may improve SpWb even if not designed explicitly to do so. This meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials (...

Individuals with cystic fibrosis (CF) are confronted by a range of difficult physical and psychosocial sequelae. Gratitude has drawn growing attention as a psychosocial resource, but it has yet to be examined among adults with CF. The current investigation evaluated longitudinal associations between trait gratitude and subsequent outcomes from depr...

Meaning and purpose in life are associated with the mental and physical health of patients with cancer and survivors and also constitute highly valued outcomes in themselves. Because meaning and purpose are often threatened by a cancer diagnosis and treatment, interventions have been developed to promote meaning and purpose. The present meta‐analys...

Background: Airway clearance therapy (ACT) is a core component of daily treatment for cystic fibrosis (CF). However, surprisingly little is known about sustained or persistent use of ACT over time among adults with CF. This longitudinal study examined persistent adherence to ACT over 12 months and its modifiable predictors, drawing on aspects of S...

Individuals with advanced cancer may experience disruption in many areas of daily life. This chapter highlights some of the common psychosocial challenges that arise, reviews screening measures that may help identify those at heightened risk, and considers brief psychosocial interventions that may be useful components of integrated stepped care.

Purpose: The extent to which patients feel prepared for end-of-life (EOL) may be associated with important clinical outcomes. Despite growing interest in the concept of "preparedness," however, there is insufficient information about what cancer patients actually need to feel prepared. Such information is foundational for patient-centered care, th...

A growing body of research shows that a majority of patients with cancer report having religious and spiritual (R/S) beliefs, engaging in R/S behaviors, or deriving comfort from R/S experiences. These studies have been reviewed but not subjected to rigorous critical analysis. A meta-analytic approach is needed to provide a more definitive understan...

Although religion/spirituality (R/S) is important in its own right for many cancer patients, a large body of research has examined whether R/S is also associated with better physical health outcomes. This literature has been characterized by heterogeneity in sample composition, measures of R/S, and measures of physical health. In an effort to synth...

Religion and spirituality (R/S) play an important role in the daily lives of many cancer patients. There has been great interest in determining whether R/S factors are related to clinically relevant health outcomes. In this meta-analytic review, the authors examined associations between dimensions of R/S and social health (eg, social roles and rela...

This article summarizes the findings of 3 previous meta-analytic reviews presented in this issue that evaluate associations between religiousness/spirituality (R/S) and patient-reported outcomes across mental, physical, and social health domains. The results are synthesized, caveats in interpreting this set of analyses are discussed, directions are...

Religion and spirituality (R/S) are patient-centered factors and often are resources for managing the emotional sequelae of the cancer experience. Studies investigating the correlation between R/S (eg, beliefs, experiences, coping) and mental health (eg, depression, anxiety, well being) in cancer have used very heterogeneous measures and have produ...

Background: The objective of this study was to pilot test an updated version of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Head and Neck Module (EORTC QLQ-H&N60). Methods: Patients with head and neck cancer were asked to complete a list of 60 head and neck cancer-specific items comprising the upd...

Background: The objective of this study was to identify relevant quality of life (QOL) issues in patients with head and neck cancer receiving multimodal and/or targeted therapies. Methods: The literature was searched for QOL issues reported after multimodal and/or targeted therapies resulting in a list of potentially relevant issues. These were...

Accumulating evidence indicates that some patients perceive positive life changes in the aftermath of serious illness. Construed as perspective transformation or posttraumatic growth, these health outcomes have received increasing attention from investigators. However, little is known about these outcomes in cultural settings outside of Western dev...

The relationship between oncologists and their cancer patients is rapidly evolving. Oncologists and other cancer professionals master new anticancer and supportive treatment options, while working under increasing economic pressure and time constraints, and are often unprepared to deal with all the challenges of their new position in a therapeutic...

Personal meaning is thought to serve as an important resource among individuals adapting to the demands of illness. However, some work in this area has been marked by vague conceptualization, or use of assessment instruments that are confounded by well-being. This investigation evaluated relationships between psychosocial and physical outcomes and...

Growing attention has focused on meaning-making processes and their health correlates among cancer patients. However, much of this work is marked by conceptual and methodological limitations. The current study evaluated global meaning and theoretically distinct aspects of illness-specific meaning (i.e., seeking sense, found sense, seeking benefits,...

To conduct a metasynthesis of human sleep studies that included women aged 50 years and older with breast cancer across chemotherapy treatment. English publications were searched with the terms sleep and breast cancer via Ovid, PubMed, and EBSCO-host databases. Human studies that used sleep-specific instruments published from January 1974-May 2009...

Head and neck cancer often has a marked impact on multiple spheres of functioning. A rapidly expanding literature has examined the functional and psychosocial sequelae that patients experience over the trajectory of the disease. This review considers some of the salient developments in quality-of-life (QOL) research over the past decade. Selected f...

In recent years, investigators have focused increased attention on positive psychology constructs and their associations with health outcomes, such as morbidity, mortality, and adaptation to illness. The database regarding some of these concepts and models has grown appreciably, but work in this area has been subject to controversy. This special se...

Growing attention has focused on relationships between religious coping and health outcomes among cancer patients. However, surprisingly little is known about religious coping among family caregivers. Moreover, few studies have been conducted outside of Western developed nations. This investigation evaluated family caregivers in Pune, India. The au...

Cancer patients sometimes report positive life changes in addition to more harrowing ones. Theoretically, several cognitive processes are thought to contribute to posttraumatic growth, but few studies have examined these relationships empirically among cancer patients. Moreover, most research has been conducted in western developed countries. This...

High-dose melphalan and autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is a standard treatment for myeloma, but very little is known about the psychosocial or quality-of-life difficulties that these patients encounter during treatment. Data regarding older patients is particularly scarce. Using a prospective design, this investigation ev...

Patients with smoking-related cancer have higher risks for recurrence if they continue to smoke. To encourage cancer patients to quit smoking a motivational pocket calendar with information about smoking and cancer, tips for stopping, and logs for monitoring was distributed among 32 patients, along with a baseline questionnaire. After 3 months, pat...

Latino English Language Learners (ELLs) who have recently immigrated to the United States represent a large and growing population that is markedly underserved. Recent trends in the data depict a significant dropout rate from high school and college for these students. According to the latest available data from The National Center for Educational...

Considerable attention has focused on relationships between religious or spiritual coping and health outcomes among cancer patients. However, few studies have differentiated among discrete dimensions of religious coping, and there have been surprisingly few prospective investigations. Negative or conflicted aspects of religious coping, in particula...

Although considerable attention has been directed toward cancer support groups, little is known about how often these services are actually used in clinical practice or the factors that influence participation. Drawing in part on the Health Belief Model, this study examined group participation and its correlates among 425 patients with diverse mali...

Trainees in hematology oncology need to learn development and regulation of clinical research protocols. We hypothesized that rotation on the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and Protocol Review and Monitor Committee (PRMC) at our university could improve fellows' understanding of clinical trial development and regulation. Since 1999, 20 fellows in...

Quality of life (QOL) has commanded growing attention within oncology in recent years. Adverse changes in functional and behavioral outcomes are a special concern in patients with head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC), because these malignancies disrupt basic aspects of daily life such as eating, respiration, and communication. These difficult...

Group interventions for cancer patients have commanded notable interest among investigators, but utilization rates are low and little is known about the features that patients themselves deem most important. The authors examined the views of potential participants, among 425 patients with diverse malignancies. A large number (64.6%) expressed inter...

Caring for patients with cancer can be taxing for front-line health care providers. The growing intensity of treatment protocols, in conjunction with staff shortages, reduced hospital stays, and broader pressures on the health care system may exacerbate these challenges, leading to increased risk for burnout. This article reviews the research liter...

The current study examined ties between religious variables and mental health in a high-risk population: lower-income chemically dependent pregnant or parenting women participating in a residential treatment program. The primary goal of the study was to investigate the relationship between various facets of religiousness and mental health symptoms,...

Growing interest has focused on relationships between health and religious coping among cancer patients. However, little is known about the health correlates of negative or conflicted religious responses. The current study examined general religiousness and two modes of cancer-specific religious coping, drawing closer to faith (positive) and strugg...

Group interventions have assumed a growing role in primary prevention and supportive care for cancer and HIV disease. Earlier sections of this Special Report examined empirical findings for these interventions and provided recommendations for future research. The current section offers brief recommendations for service providers, policymakers, and...

The incorporation of chemotherapy and radiation, either sequentially or concurrently, has been increasingly used for organ preservation in patients with advanced laryngeal cancer. Traditional outcome measures of clinical response such as locoregional control and survival have been similar for patients treated with chemoradiotherapy and those treate...

Growing evidence supports the value of group interventions for individuals who are at risk for or have developed cancer or HIV disease. However, information is more limited concerning how these services can be delivered in an optimal manner, and what processes contribute to their benefits. Parts I and II of this review examined the efficacy of diff...

Although pediatric stem cell transplantation is associated with elevated risks for quality-of-life (QOL) deficits, morbidity, and late effects, little is known about how supportive care needs are addressed across different pediatric centers. This study examined practice patterns among centers enrolled in the Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Co...

Stem cell transplantation has assumed a prominent place in the treatment of multiple myeloma, but relative to patients with other malignancies there is surprisingly little information about the adjustment difficulties and quality-of-life changes that these patients experience. This study examined psychosocial and functional deficits among myeloma p...

There has been great interest in the potential impact of group interventions on medical outcomes. This article reviews the effects of professionally-led groups on immune activity, neuroendocrine function, and survival among patients with cancer or HIV disease. We examine findings concerning different types of group services at different phases of i...

Group interventions for individuals facing cancer or HIV disease have drawn considerable attention among researchers and clinicians over the past 20 years. There is growing evidence that group services may be helpful, but which interventions are most effective for participants at which phases in the trajectory of disease has been less clear. Moreov...

Although peripheral blood stem-cell transplantation (PBSCT) has assumed a growing role in the treatment of multiple myeloma, very few studies have examined the functional and quality-of-life changes experienced by myeloma patients in the transplant setting. Multiple myeloma is characterized by a range of debilitating physical and psychosocial sympt...

The increasing interest between religiosity and health benefits has created the need for a brief, reliable, valid, and practical instrument to measure strength of religious faith. The purpose of this study is to develop a brief version of the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire (SCSRFQ). The SCSRFQ has been reduced from a ten-item...

Growing attention has focused on associations between religious involvement and health outcomes for cancer patients. Unfortunately, research has been hampered by lack of measures suitable for use in oncology settings. This study examined the performance of one recently developed measure, the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire (SC...

Cancer presents the affected family with major challenges and disruptions. Family therapists offer a valuable but underutilized resource. Multiple marriage and family therapy approaches may be helpful, if appropriately tailored to characteristics of the illness (e.g., phase of treatment) and the family. This article reviews a number of clinical int...

Recently, mental health professionals have begun examining the potential value of religious faith and spirituality in the lives of individuals suffering from a variety of acute and chronic illnesses. This study explored the relation between religious faith, spirituality, and mental health outcomes in 236 individuals recovering from substance abuse....

Background Little is known about how patients cope with head and neck cancer despite its devastating impact on basic functioning. This study examined coping patterns among patients at different phases of illness.Methods Participants were 120 patients with advanced disease, who were grouped according to the following phases of illness: (1) pretreatm...

Recently, mental health professionals have begun examining the potential value of religious faith and spirituality in the lives of individuals suffering from a variety of acute and chronic illnesses. This study explored the relation between religious faith, spirituality, and mental health outcomes in 236 individuals recovering from substance abuse....

Considerable evidence suggests that group interventions are a valuable resource for cancer patients, but few conceptual frameworks are available to guide decisions about which approaches might be most useful for which patients at what phases of illness. This article presents an integrative treatment model for group services. It describes different...

Considerable evidence suggests that group interventions are a valuable resource for cancer patients, but few conceptual frameworks are available to guide decisions about which approaches might be most useful for which patients at what phases of illness. This article presents an integrative treatment model for group services. It describes different...

Recently researchers have begun examining the benefit of religious faith on mental and physical health outcomes. This study examined the relationship between religious faith and psychological functioning in 342 university students in diverse educational and geographic settings including a private West Coast Catholic college (sample 1), a Southern p...

To evaluate the reliability and validity of a new, disease-specific quality-of-life measure for patients with head and neck cancer: the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Questionnaire--QLQ-H&N35. Cross-sectional study using questionnaire data and medical chart review. Academic tertiary care otolaryng...

Despite increasing interest in the relationship between religious involvement and health outcomes for cancer patients, research has been limited by the lack of appropriate measures. Few of the many instruments available are well suited to cancer patients. The current study examined the psychometric properties of one recently developed measure, the...

Growing attention has focused on the relationship between religiosity and health outcomes. However, research has been constrained by the limited availability of measures suitable for use with medical patients. This study examined the psychometric properties of the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire (SCSORF) in two well-defined sa...

This study further investigates the validity of the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith (SCSORF) questionnaire. Building and expanding upon prior research, the SCSORF, existing religiosity measures, mood, and personality adjustment scales were administered to three samples. Subjects included 290 university students and 232 recovering substance...

Assessment of quality of life in patients with head and neck cancer presents many challenges to the clinician, especially because of the profound physical impact of disease on everyday functioning, including eating, breathing, and speech. Various assessment measures are reviewed here, and recommendations for their use under particular circumstances...

Cancer can have a dramatic impact on family life. As a result of changes in cancer detection and survival, a growing number of families have been touched by this illness. This article reviews some of the challenges these families face. An initial conceptual model is offered, which describes how family adjustment is influenced by medical, developmen...

Research in psychosocial oncology has grown considerably. In this article, psychological interventions for cancer patients are reviewed. The following four areas are examined: (1) adjustment and quality of life, (2) symptom control, (3) immune function, and (4) disease progression. In each area, psychosocial dimensions of risk and resilience, the e...

There has been significant progress in developing or adapting measures of religiousness for use in health settings. Except for the spiritual well-being scales, most measures focus on religiousness rather than spirituality. Very few sound measures of spirituality or illness-specific spiritual coping have been developed. Other shortcomings for some i...

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Kansas, 1988. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 129-134). Photocopy. s