Kate Rygiel

By Katarzyna Rygiel

Although palliative care is designed to provide holistic comfort care and support, several patients still experience loss of purpose in life, and suffer from distress, sadness, anxiety, or decreased quality of life (QoL). To address these unmet needs, novel interventions, focused on psychosocial sources of distress, in hospice patients are needed. One such intervention is dignity therapy (DT), defined as a brief, individualized psychotherapy, applied for the purpose of relieving psychological distress at the end of life. “Calendarium Vitae” (CV) as a form of DT represents a feasible, safe, and effective, patient-friendly approach, targeting end-of-life psychological issues. In particular, DT can alleviate suffering and distress, help preserve psychophysical integrity, and support caregivers, during the bereavement period. This pilot study is designed to collect preliminary data, prior to conducting a larger randomized controlled trial (RCT) that will investigate the correlations of DT intervention with QoL, and possible reduction of distress and suffering, in the Eastern and Central European hospice patients (and their caregivers). Since DT is unknown in this part of Europe, the proposed pilot study, followed by RCT, will be the first step on the way to explore the DT intervention in research, among the vulnerable hospice patient population.

Part of the book: Clinical Trials in Vulnerable Populations

By Katarzyna (Kate) Rygiel

Students are at risk for daily stress, often caused by an increasing load of the material to study, limited time and resources necessary to fulfill assignments, personal or family demands, high expectations, pressures, and frustrations. All these factors can create distress, decreased learning abilities, and psychosomatic disorders or diseases. To mitigate such negative biopsychosocial effects of stress, different types of relaxation techniques can be used. Addressing these issues early (e.g., among the 1st and 2nd year university students) seems particularly important, due to possible prevention of the long-term adverse health consequences of stress (compared to no intervention). To fulfill this important need, a “portable intervention,” such as stress management brief training (SMBT), focused on the reduction of the perceived stress levels among students will be briefly outlined. The SMBT consists of a short review of stress and coping approaches, followed by the instruction of a simple stress management relaxation/technique [e.g., deep diaphragmatic breathing (DDB)]. Practical considerations regarding the DDB will be highlighted. The feasibility and usefulness of the DDB training for stress management among the 1st and 2nd year university students should encourage implementation of this innovative, safe, inexpensive, and friendly technique.

Part of the book: Effects of Stress on Human Health