”Do it - and get better” for people with cancer

Introduction
International research shows that very few occupational therapy programs have focused on participation from the client when developing strategies for enabling a meaningful daily life for people with a cancer diagnosis. Based on the principles from Lifestyle Redesign© we developed the program,”Do it – and get better”, for people with cancer. The program was tested with six persons with cancer, over a three-month period.
Objectives
The objective of the study was to explore if the program supported participants in returning to a meaningful daily life after a cancer diagnosis. By giving the participants tools, the program was aimed at improving their self-efficacy.
Method
Data was collected using the General Self-Efficacy scale (GSE) before and after the program and semi structured individual interviews before, during and after the program.
Data from GSE was analysed using Excel 2016, and the interviews were analysed using content analysis.
Results
The preliminary results show no statistically significant improvement measured on the GSE scale, however, the participants were within the normal range before participating in the program.
The six participants experienced the program supported them in planning and prioritizing occupations, encouraged them to perform valued occupations, and enabled them to take care of others. All participants experienced gaining a positive focus on everyday activities.
Conclusion
The GSE did not show any significant results. Despite this, the participants experienced the program as having the potential to support them in finding new tools to manage their daily lives and the challenges in doing daily occupations.