The popularity of non-mainstream cancer treatments raises complex issues for patients
and medical practitioners and it is vital to scientifically evaluate effectiveness and
investigate mechanisms of action of complementary treatments. This thesis describes
sociodemographic, medical and psychological characteristics of participants in The
Gawler Foundation program, which incorporates meditation, social support, positive
thinking and a vegetarian diet. It describes program impact in terms of: Profile of Mood
States (POMS), Mini-Mental Adjustment to Cancer (Mini-MAC), Functional Assessment
of Chronic Illness Therapy (FACIT) and salivary cortisol levels. Compliance with
program recommendations for up to 12-months and effects on adjustment were explored.
This thesis also describes the development of a scale to assess the effects of meditation.
Program participants (n=112) were predominantly female, well-educated, younger in age
with good social support. Over 60% reported metastatic disease and 50% had been
diagnosed for over a year. Improvements in all measures were found at program
completion, with Spiritual wellbeing particularly linked to improvement in quality of life
(QOL). Those with higher levels of mood disturbance and lower QOL at baseline
benefited more than those who were less well adjusted.
Analysis of three, six, and 12-month follow-up data showed high compliance with
program recommendations. Improvements seen at program completion were mostly not
maintained at follow-up, although improvements from baseline were. These results
suggest that the program has significant beneficial effects on adjustment but that these
may not be fully maintained at follow-up, possibly due to difficulty incorporating program
recommendations into everyday life and increasing disease severity. Study limitations
include self-selection, high drop-out rates and lack of a control group.
Initial investigation suggested that quality of meditation experience was linked to
improved adjustment and this thesis describes the initial development of a scale to assess
the effects of meditation, which was divided into two sections: Experiences During
Meditation and Effects of Meditation in Everyday Life, and trialled on 236 participants.
Scale evaluation involved factor analysis, reliability and validity analysis. The
Experiences During Meditation scale had five subscales: Cognitive effects, Emotional
effects, Mystical experiences, Relaxation and Physical discomfort. The Effects of
Meditation in Everyday Life scale had a single factor structure, with the final scale
consisting of 30 items.
Construct validity was explored by assessing correlations with the measures: Perceived
Control of Internal States, Mindful Attention Awareness Scale, FACIT Spiritual wellbeing
subscale, POMS-Short Form and Physical Symptoms Checklist. It is anticipated that the
scale may be useful for clinicians and researchers and may contribute to improved
understanding of the effects of meditation practices.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/216646 |
| Date | January 2006 |
| Creators | Reavley, Nicola, n/a |
| Publisher | Swinburne University of Technology. |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | http://www.swin.edu.au/), Copyright Nicola Reavley |
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