UB School of Nursing-Led Study Explores Promising Insomnia Treatment for Cancer Survivors

A study led by Suzanne Dickerson, associate dean for the UB School of Nursing research doctoral program and professor, and Misol Kwon, post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and UB nursing PhD alumna, has uncovered significant findings for cancer survivors suffering from insomnia.

Published in the Journal of Cancer Survivorship, “Nurse-delivered brief behavioral treatment for insomnia in cancer survivors: a randomized controlled trial” demonstrates that nurse-delivered brief behavioral treatment (BBTI) reduces insomnia symptom severity among a diverse group of cancer survivors compared to a control group.

BBTI, a type of cognitive behavioral treatment for insomnia, involves health care providers working with patients over the course of one to four sessions to implement individualized, precise behavioral changes to combat sleep disturbances, guided by a pretreatment sleep diary.

The clinical trial, conducted over a five-year period from 2018–2023, included 136 cancer survivors with diagnoses including breast, prostate, colorectal and lung cancers. Participants were 55% female and 45% male, with an average age of 63.7 years.

Dickerson emphasized the need for interventions like BBTI among cancer survivors, citing the significant impact on patients in terms of cognitive function; work productivity and safety; and moods and relationships.

“Sleep disturbances occur in 60% of cancer survivors,” she said. “However, a lack of referral mechanisms to address this need for intervention has resulted in lower quality of life and wellbeing and increases in health care costs.”

Kwon noted that the study was remarkable given that they achieved a high-retention rate among participants, despite the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic during the trial period.

“When the pandemic hit in March 2020, we rapidly pivoted to virtual recruitment and enrollment procedures, which was a significant shift for our team,” she explained.

The study was initially led by the late Grace Dean, a UB nursing professor and the original principal investigator for this clinical trial. Dean died at age 66 during the final year of data collection, leaving a legacy of commitment to improving the lives of cancer survivors.

The research referenced in this article was supported, in part, by the National Institutes of Health under award number: R01 NR018215 [PI: SSD].

By SHANNON O'SULLIVAN