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Drunk-driving offenders need assessment and treatment services not only for alcohol problems but also for drug use and the other psychiatric disorders that commonly accompany alcohol-related problems.

Background To reduce the risk of long-term swallowing complications after radiation, swallowing exercises may be helpful. Both the rate of adherence to swallowing exercises and its impact on future swallowing function is unknown. Methods 109 oropharyngeal cancer patients beginning radiation were tracked for two years to determine adherence to swallowing exercises. Participants completed the M.D. Anderson Dysphagia Inventory (MDADI) 1–2 years after treatment to assess self-reported swallowing function. Adherence, demographics, tumor and treatment variables were multivariably regressed onto the MDADI physical subscale score. Results Per speech pathologist documentation, 13% of the participants were fully adherent and 32% were partially adherent. Adherence was associated with the Physical MDADI Subscale score in the multivariate model (p=.01). Conclusions The majority of head and neck cancer patients are nonadherent to swallowing exercise regimens and may benefit from supportive care strategies to optimize their adherence.

Objectives To evaluate prospectively the associations between illness uncertainty, anxiety, fear of progression, and general and disease-specific quality of life (QOL) in men with favorable risk prostate cancer undergoing active surveillance (AS). Patients and Methods After meeting stringent enrollment criteria for an AS cohort study at a single tertiary care cancer center, 180 men with favorable-risk prostate cancer completed questionnaires at enrollment and every 6 months for up to 30 months. Questionnaires assessed illness uncertainty, anxiety, prostate-specific (Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite; EPIC) and general QOL (Short Form 12; SF-12) and fear of progression. We used linear mixed model analyses and multilevel mediation analyses. Results EPIC sexual scores significantly declined over time (P <0.05). Illness uncertainty was a significant predictor of all EPIC summary, SF12 physical component summary (PCS), mental component summary (MCS), and fear of progression scores (all P values, <0.05), despite controlling for demographic and clinicopathologic factors. Anxiety predicted all EPIC summary, MCS, and fear of progression scores (all P values, <0.05) but not PCS scores (P = 0.08). Scores on PCS, MCS, EPIC summary scales (except sexual scale), and fear of progression did not change significantly over the study period (all P values, >0.10). Conclusion Over the 2.5-year follow-up, QOL remained stable; only sexual function scores significantly declined. Illness uncertainty and anxiety were significant predictors of general and prostate-specific QOL and fear of progression. Interventions to reduce uncertainty and anxiety may enhance QOL for men with prostate cancer on AS.

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Objective This study evaluated whether social cognitive theory (SCT) variables, as measured by questionnaire and ecological momentary assessment (EMA), predicted exercise in endometrial cancer survivors. Methods One hundred post-treatment endometrial cancer survivors received a 6-month home-based exercise intervention. EMAs were conducted using hand-held computers for 10- to 12-day periods every 2 months. Participants rated morning self-efficacy and positive and negative outcome expectations using the computer, recorded exercise information in real time and at night, and wore accelerometers. At the midpoint of each assessment period participants completed SCT questionnaires. Using linear mixed-effects models, we tested whether morning SCT variables predicted minutes of exercise that day (Question 1) and whether exercise minutes at time point Tj could be predicted by questionnaire measures of SCT variables from time point Tj-1 (Question 2). Results Morning self-efficacy significantly predicted that day’s exercise minutes (p<.0001). Morning positive outcome expectations was also associated with exercise minutes (p=0.0003), but the relationship was attenuated when self-efficacy was included in the model (p=0.4032). Morning negative outcome expectations was not associated with exercise minutes. Of the questionnaire measures of SCT variables, only exercise self-efficacy predicted exercise at the next time point (p=0.003). Conclusions The consistency of the relationship between self-efficacy and exercise minutes over short (same day) and longer (Tj to Tj-1) time periods provides support for a causal relationship. The strength of the relationship between morning self-efficacy and exercise minutes suggest that real-time interventions that target daily variation in self-efficacy may benefit endometrial cancer survivors’ exercise adherence.

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Spouses offer a primary source of support and may provide critical assistance for behavior change. A diet-exercise intervention previously found efficacious in improving cancer survivors’ lifestyle behaviors was adapted to utilize a couples-based approach. The aims were to test the feasibility of this couples-based (CB) intervention and compare its efficacy to the same program delivered to the survivor-only (SO). Twenty-two survivor-spouse couples completed baseline assessments and were randomized to the CB or SO interventions. The study surpassed feasibility benchmarks; 91% of survivors and 86% of spouses completed a 6-month follow-up. Survivors and spouses attended 94% and 91% of sessions, respectively. The SO survivors showed significant improvements on the 30-s chair stand and arm curl tests, weight, and fruit and vegetable (F and V) consumption. The CB survivors showed significant improvements on the 6-min walk and 2-min step tests, body weight, and fat and F and V consumption. Improvement in the 30-s chair stand and arm curl tests was significantly better for SO survivors. The SO spouses showed no significant changes in outcome measures, but the CB spouses showed significant improvements in moderate-to-strenuous physical activity, weight, and fat and F and V consumption. Weight loss was significantly greater in CB spouses compared to SO spouses. Findings demonstrate feasibility, warranting further investigation of CB approaches to promote lifestyle change among cancer survivors and spouses.