Skye Dong

• Doctor of Clinical Psychology/Doctor of Philosophy (DCP/PhD)
• The University of Sydney

Purpose: To date, no evidence-based, community-based online group intervention has been designed specifically to enhance posttraumatic growth (PTG), quality of life (QoL), sense of meaning and purpose, and satisfaction with life following a spinal cord injury (SCI). This qualitative study aims to describe participants' experiences of participating...

Context Managing “symptom clusters,” or multiple concurrent symptoms in patients with advanced cancer remains a clinical challenge. The optimal processes constituting effective management of symptoms clusters remain uncertain. Objectives To describe the attitudes and strategies of clinicians in managing multiple co-occurring symptoms in patients w...

Patients with advanced cancer typically experience multiple concurrent symptoms, which have a detrimental impact on patient outcomes. No studies to date have qualitatively explored advanced cancer patients' perceptions of multiple symptoms in oncology and palliative care settings. Understanding the experience of multiple symptoms can inform integra...

AU TO PROVIDE CONTEXT OBJECTIVES: To investigate the consistency of symptom cluster composition in advanced cancer patients using different statistical methodologies for all patients across five primary cancer sites, and to examine which clusters predict functional status, a global assessment of health and global quality of life. Principal componen...

Advanced cancer patients typically experience multiple symptoms, which may influence patient outcomes synergistically. The composition of these symptom clusters (SCs) differs depending on various clinical variables, and the timing and method of their assessment. The objectives of this systematic review were to examine the composition, longitudinal...

Purpose: Rebuilding a strong sense of meaning and purpose following trauma is a vital contributor to post-traumatic growth and adapting well to a spinal cord injury. This project aimed to develop an intervention that used the concept of post-traumatic growth to foster a stronger sense of meaning and purpose in people with a spinal cord injury. Me...

Introduction The benefits of patient-reported feedback, using questionnaires that allow patients to report how they feel and function without any interpretation from healthcare professionals, are well established. However, patient-reported outcomes measures (PROMs) are not routinely collected in patients with melanoma in Australia. The aim of this...

Context Existential and spiritual factors are known to play an important role in how people cope with disability and life-threatening illnesses such as cancer. However, comparatively little is known about the impact of pain on factors such as meaning and purpose in one’s life and their potential roles in coping with pain. Objectives The aim of thi...

This study examined the content covered by radiation therapists (RTs) during education sessions; the frequency and types of questions asked by patients; and the relationship between patient characteristics and the number of questions asked. Fifty‐eight education sessions were audio‐recorded and transcribed verbatim. A coding scheme was developed to...

Context: Understanding patients' symptom experiences is essential to providing effective clinical care. The discussion between patients and physicians of symptom meaning and its significance, however, is ill understood. Objectives: To investigate palliative care physicians' understanding of symptom meaning, and their experiences of and attitudes...

Objective: There is a limited understanding of symptom meaning and its significance to clinical practice within symptom experience literature. This study aims to qualitatively explore the ways in which symptom meanings are discussed by patients and responded to by palliative care physicians during consultations. Methods: Framework analysis was c...

Objective: Radiation oncology consultations involve explanation of complex technical concepts using medical jargon. This study aimed to: analyse types and frequency of medical jargon that radiation therapists (RTs) use during education sessions; identify how patients seek clarification from RTs; and, explore RTs communication strategies. Methods:...

Multiethnic societies face challenges in delivering evidence-based culturally competent health care. This study compared health-related quality of life and psychological morbidity in a hospital-based sample of first-generation migrants and Australian-born Anglo cancer patients, controlling for potential confounders related to migrant status. Furthe...

Objective To adapt an observational tool for assessing patient-centeredness of radiotherapy consultations and to assess whether scores for this tool and an existing tool assessing patient-perceived patient-centeredness predict patient outcomes. Methods The Measure of Patient-centered Communication (MPCC), an observational coding system that assess...

Recent data shows a falling cancer mortality in the general population without a similar shift in immigrant outcomes, leading to a greater cancer burden and mortality for immigrants. Our aims were to compare perceived patterns of care in immigrants and native-born cancer patients. This was a hospital-based sample of first generation immigrants and...

Objective: Poor prognosis is difficult to impart, particularly across a cultural divide. This study compared prognostic communication with immigrants (with and without interpreters) versus native-born patients in audio-taped oncology consultations. Methods: Ten oncologists, 78 patients (31 Australian-born, 47 immigrants) and 115 family members p...

Immigrants with cancer often have professional and/or family interpreters to overcome challenges communicating with their health team. This study explored the rate and consequences of nonequivalent interpretation in medical oncology consultations. Consecutive immigrant patients with newly diagnosed with incurable cancer, who spoke Arabic, Cantonese...

Immigrants report challenges communicating with their health team. This study compared oncology consultations of immigrants with and without interpreters vs Anglo-Australian patients. Patients with newly diagnosed incurable cancer who had immigrated from Arabic, Chinese or Greek speaking countries or were Anglo-Australian, and family members, were...