LAUSR

Treatment of breast cancer can be accompanied by long-term consequences affecting women’s participation in many tasks. This study aimed to assess the effect of cognitive behavioral stress management (CBSM) program on occupational performance of women with breast cancer. In this randomized clinical trial, conducted between Feb 3 and Oct 26, 2016, 104 women with breast cancer who had referred to Imam Khomeini clinic in Hamadan, and who fulfilled the inclusion criteria (20-60 years old, married, suffering from grade 1-3 breast cancer with a history of recent surgery) were enrolled. They were randomly divided into two groups of 52 using a permuted block size of four. The intervention group took part in four 60-minute sessions of CBSM over four weeks. The study data were collected using a demographic information form and the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure. The statistical analyst was masked to intervention allocation. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, paired t-test, and repeated measures ANOVA. A significant difference was observed between the two groups regarding the mean scores of occupational performance (p=0.02) and satisfaction (p=0.005) after the intervention. Each variable was measured at three time points (before the intervention, immediately and 2 weeks after intervention). A significant difference was observed in the two groups’ mean scores of performance (p=0.026) and satisfaction (p=0.01), irrespective of the time of assessment. The CBSM program promoted the occupational performance immediately and two weeks after the intervention in women with breast cancer. This technique can be used as a complementary method alongside medical therapies in oncology centers.