Abstracts Health Sciences

Mindfulness-based practice for elderly veterans: a project to evaluate the interest and applicability of a mindfulness-based program for residents at a Veterans home

by April Diane Alexander

People undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer will experience significant emotional and psycho-social distress. Current research supports psycho-social interventions for this population and shows that these interventions can improve the perception of quality of life (QOL) during medical treatment for cancer. This project was a collaborative process between a master???s level social work intern, oncology medical practitioners, and the cancer program area director to create a manual for a behavioral QOL intervention which will be made available for the St. Joseph Hospital Cancer Program. The psycho-social intervention is tailored to the unique challenges of rural cancer service delivery and can be integrated into patient care by the cancer program mental health practitioners and patient navigators. The intervention manual consists of a QOL questionnaire, local resources, and recommendations for implementation. Future data collection results from the intervention can be utilized for a client community needs assessment for the cancer program in order to provide a better quality of patient care and more comprehensive psycho-social services for clients. Advisors/Committee Members: Maguire, Jennifer.