Janine porter-steele

Wesley Hospital · choices

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of a sexual rehabilitation program, SEXHAB, in improving sexual functioning, reducing sexual distress, and enhancing marital satisfaction for women after gynecological cancer treatment. Methods This is a randomized controlled trial that included 150 women newly diagnosed with gynecological cancer from three...

Objective Nuanced distress screening tools can help cancer care services manage specific cancer groups' concerns more efficiently. This study examines the sensitivity and specificity of a tool specifically for women with gynaecological cancers (called the Gynaecological Cancer Distress Screen or DT‐Gyn). Methods This paper presents cross‐sectional...

Objective: To assess the feasibility and acceptability of a culturally-adapted Women's Wellness After Cancer Programme (WWACPHK) for improving health-related quality of life, anxiety and depressive symptoms and enhancing self-efficacy in engaging in healthy lifestyles among Chinese women treated for gynaecological cancer. Methods: This pilot ran...

Purpose Using a discrete dataset from the Women’s Wellness after Cancer Program (WWACP), we examine the prevalence and predictors of self-reported sleep problems in women previously treated for cancer. Methods Participants were 351 women (Mage = 53.2, SD = 8.8) from the WWACP who had completed surgery, chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy for breast,...

Background: The incidence of breast cancer in younger women, that is, aged 50 years or younger, in Hong Kong is increasing. The Internet-based Younger Women's Wellness After Cancer Program (YWWACP) is a whole-lifestyle intervention that can help young women to manage their health and risks of chronic diseases. Objectives: The study aimed to test...

Background The residual effects of cancer and its treatment can profoundly affect women’s quality of life. This paper presents results from a multisite randomized controlled trial that evaluated the clinical benefits of an e-health enabled health promotion intervention (the Women’s Wellness after Cancer Program or WWACP) on the health-related quali...

Purpose Sleep disturbance after cancer treatment could compromise recovery. This paper examined the associations between post-treatment sleep problems and health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and the effectiveness of an e-enabled lifestyle intervention on sleep outcomes. Methods The Women’s Wellness after Cancer Program (WWACP) was examined in...

Background Younger women (defined as those < 50 years who are likely pre-menopausal at time of diagnosis) with breast cancer often experience persistent treatment-related side effects that adversely affect their physical and psychological wellbeing. The Women’s Wellness After Cancer Program (WWACP) was adapted and piloted in Australia to address th...

Aim To implement a nurse‐led sexual rehabilitation programme for gynaecological cancer (GC) survivors and to evaluate its effects on their sexual functioning, sexual distress and marital satisfaction. Design An assessor‐blinded, randomized controlled trial. Methods The development of the nurse‐led sexual rehabilitation intervention was guided by...

Background: We aimed to determine the psychometric properties and factor structure of the 19-item Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) in 132 sexually active women previously treated for breast cancer. Methods: Confirmatory factor analysis explored three models: (a) second-order six-factor, (b) six-factor, and (c) five-factor models combining the...

Objectives This paper examines the utility of a common climacteric symptoms scale, the Greene Climacteric Scale (GCS), in two groups of women with a history of breast cancer, those who were at menopause before commencing breast cancer treatment, and those who were not. Study design This pooled analysis of 297 women previously diagnosed with breast...

Background Midlife adults are at increased risk of noncommunicable disease due to the lifetime cumulative effect of unhealthy behaviours and increased prevalence of overweight and obesity. Aim This study evaluates preliminary effectiveness and feasibility of an eHealth intervention (GroWell for Health Program) designed for primary prevention of mo...

Objective Generic distress screening tools may not recognise the unique concerns reported in some cancer populations. The face and content validity of a screening tool derived from the National Cancer Comprehensive Network distress thermometer and problem list and adapted specifically for women with gynaecological cancer is presented. Methods Buil...

Aims To undertake a qualitative study of a multimodal behavioural intervention and research protocol developed to improve wellness in women with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), the Women’s Wellness with Type 2 Diabetes program (WWDP). Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 participants who completed the WWDP. The interviews wer...

Aims The current study aimed to examine feasibility of participant recruitment and retention rates for the Women’s Wellness with Type 2 Diabetes program (WWDP), and to assess initial efficacy of the program in improving wellbeing outcomes. Methods 70 midlife women with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) participated in a 12-week wellness-focused inte...

Objective: This randomized controlled trial tested a digitally-delivered whole-of-lifestyle program for women previously treated for cancer. We investigated (1) associations between self-reported physical activity (PA) and menopausal symptoms and (2) if the intervention was associated with beneficial changes in PA and menopausal symptoms. Methods...

BACKGROUND Noncommunicable diseases pose a significant threat to women’s health globally, with most diseases being attributed to modifiable risk factors such as physical inactivity. Women perceive a range of benefits and barriers to exercise; however, there is little evidence about the effect of different lifestyle intervention delivery modes on pe...

Background: Noncommunicable diseases pose a significant threat to women's health globally, with most diseases being attributed to modifiable risk factors such as physical inactivity. Women perceive a range of benefits and barriers to exercise; however, there is little evidence about the effect of different lifestyle intervention delivery modes on...

Objective This paper examines the direct and intermediary relationships between life stress, stress appraisal and resilience, and increased anxiety and depressive symptoms in Australian women after cancer treatment. Methods Data examined from 278 women aged 18 years and older previously treated for breast, gynaecological or blood cancer, participa...

Objectives Earlier life stressors can increase the risk of persistent anxiety and depressive symptoms in women after cancer, though our understanding of the underlying mechanisms is limited. In this study, we tested alternative life course models to determine which best described associations between exposure to stressors in childhood, adolescence,...

The impact of a breast cancer diagnosis goes beyond the early diagnosis and treatment phases. While survival has improved significantly over the last decade, women report ongoing quality of life (survivorship) concerns as a result of their diagnosis and treatment. There are many models of supportive care available in Australia, including those prov...

Background: Despite advances in cancer diagnosis and treatment have significantly improved survival rates, patients post-treatment-related health needs are often not adequately addressed by current health services. The aim of the Women's Wellness after Cancer Program (WWACP), which is a digitised multimodal lifestyle intervention, is to enhance he...

Objectives: This analysis examined climacteric symptoms clusters in women with and without breast cancer, and explored how sociodemographic, health, and modifiable lifestyle factors predicted symptom clusters. Methods: This pooled analysis of four Women's Wellness Research Program (WWRP) studies comprised individual-level data from 969 Australia...

Women diagnosed as having breast cancer may experience difficulties with posttreatment effects such as menopausal symptoms. The aims of this pilot study were to (1) evaluate the impact of a multimodal lifestyle program on reducing menopausal symptoms in women with breast cancer and (2) examine the impact of the program on health-related quality of...

Background: After breast cancer treatment, women of all ages may experience menopausal symptoms as a side effect of their cancer treatment. Menopausal symptoms can be severe and have a significant effect on a woman’s lifestyle. Research has shown that lifestyle changes can have positive effects on menopausal symptoms. The Pink Women’s Wellness Prog...

ANDERSON D.J., YATES P., MCCARTHY A., LANG C.P., HARGRAVES M., MCCARTHY N. & PORTER-STEELE J. (2011) European Journal of Cancer Care20, 785–794 Younger and older women's concerns about menopause after breast cancer A number of treatments for breast cancer induce menopause. This study's aim was to explore women's perceptions and beliefs about menopa...

A number of treatments for breast cancer induce menopause. This study's aim was to explore women's perceptions and beliefs about menopausal symptoms and their management following breast cancer, and to compare younger and older women's experiences. Data were collected via semi-structured focus groups from women who had undergone treatment for breas...