The effect of cognitive behavioural therapy in improving sleep disturbances in breast cancer patients

Abstract

Overview of topic: Breast cancer is a disease consisting of the sporadic growth of breast cells. This disease causes psychological issues such as insomnia as a lot of life changing processes occur. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a nonpharmacological therapeutic measure which focuses on changing one’s attitude towards sleep. Therefore, in this dissertation, ways on how CBT can help improve sleep in breast cancer patients will be discussed. The research question: Does cognitive behavioural therapy improve sleep disturbances in breast cancer patients who suffer from insomnia? PICO Elements: The population (P) studied were female breast cancer patients. The intervention (I) was cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), the comparison (C) was no intervention (no CBT), and the outcome (O) was an improvement in sleep disturbances. Method: A thorough systematic search was conducted through various databases to achieve relevant studies. In collaboration with Boolean operators, the search occurred on databases (EBSCO and PubMed) to search results. The inclusion criteria comprised of peer reviewed studies published in English in the last 10 years and excluded those which did not focus on the PICO elements of this dissertation. The PRISMA 2009 checklist was used to filter out irrelevant results. Seven randomised controlled trials were found relevant and will be appraised in this dissertation. The Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) tool was then used to critically appraise the studies. ii Results and Conclusion: Even though minor inconsistencies were noted when comparing the studies, all studies established an improvement on the quality of sleep in breast cancer patients through CBT. Implications and Recommendations: Breast cancer within the Maltese population is common. Therefore, promoting psychological services and educating health care professionals on how to deal with insomnia is crucial to improve on the quality of life of patients with breast cancer. Moreover, the need for the management team to set guidelines is vital.