Background: Network meta-analysis (NMA) of survival data with a multidimensional treatment effect has been introduced as an alternative to NMA based on the proportional hazards assumption. However, these flexible models have some limitations, such as the use of an approximate likelihood based on discrete hazards, rather than a likelihood for…

Background: Stratified medicine seeks to identify patients most likely to respond to treatment. Individual participant data (IPD) network meta-analysis (NMA) models have greater power than individual trials to identify treatment-covariate interactions (TCIs). Treatment-covariate interactions contain "within" and "across" trial…

The purpose of the present study was to apply Berg and Upchurch's developmental-conceptual model toward a better understanding of how couples cope with chronic illness. Specifically, a model was hypothesized in which proximal factors (relational quality), dyadic appraisal (illness interference), and dyadic coping (partner support) influence…

Background: Community-based peer support may help meet the practical, emotional, and spiritual needs of African Americans with advanced cancer. Support teams are a unique model of peer support for persons facing serious illness, but research is rare. This study sought to (a) implement new volunteer support teams for African Americans with advanced…

The aim of our study was to develop a graphical tool that can be used in addition to standard statistical criteria to support decisions on the number of classes in explorative categorical latent variable modeling for rehabilitation research. Data from two rehabilitation research projects were used. In the first study, a latent profile analysis was…

It is rare to find the emotional component of self-directed learning discussed explicitly in the literature. This lack is particularly glaring given the interest sparked by recent brain research concerning the importance of emotion in all types of learning as well as by the dramatic increase in self-directed learning in the emotionally charged…

This article offers a stress theory-based conceptual framework for understanding proactive options for care-getting for patients living with cancer that is also relevant to patients living with other chronic or life-threatening illnesses. Barriers and facilitators to active efforts for obtaining responsive care from both informal and formal…

In Part I of this paper, we described a model that was used as a framework for reviewing studies of psychoeducational interventions intended to influence illness- and treatment-related behaviors and attitudes in pediatric cancer patients. In Part II, we distinguish between interventions that attempt to influence patients' behaviors just by…

Cancer treatment outcomes have improved over the past 20 years, but treatment decision making in this context remains complex. There are often a number of reasonable treatment alternatives, including no treatment in some circumstances. Patients and doctors often have to weigh up uncertain benefits against uncertain costs. Shared decision making…

Three studies in the development of the Patient Reactions Assessment (PRA), involving a total of 19 nurses, 13 counseling students, and 417 cancer patients, are described. Concurrent validity of the PRA is supported, and confirmatory factor analysis supports the conceptual model on which the scale is built. (SLD)

Procedures for the evaluation of patient education programs have been slow to evolve; the majority of programs, in fact, remain unevaluated. Patient education efforts, particularly with cancer patients, are effective in enhancing recovery, alleviating anxiety, and facilitating compliance. Patient education should minimize patient dependence on…