Running head: TOPIC SEARCH STRATEGY
Topic Search Strategy Paper
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TOPIC SEARCH STRATEGY
Clinical question
Across the globe, cancer is a public health concern. Approximately more than 8.2 million
people die from cancer every year, and more than 14 million cancer cases are reported every year
(Gonzalez et al., 2021). Various risk factors such as excessive consumption of alcohol, smoking
tobacco, high body mass index (BMI), and unhealthy eating habits have been associated with
contributing to cancer, its progression and poor outcomes (Liu et al., 2022).
The treatment of cancer can result in various side effects affecting the patient’s physical
and mental health. The complications resulting from cancer treatment, such as hair loss, reduced
sexual function, organ damage, life expectancy and its impact on work and social roles, can
result in chronic psychological stress (Liu et al., 2022). Chronic psychological stress can lead to
the development of emotional disorders such as anxiety. Anxiety is common among female
cancer patients, affecting more than 50% of female cancer within one year of being diagnosed
with cancer (Gonzalez et al., 2021). Anxiety has been linked with other chronic diseases,
financial challenges, lack of social support, and physical and cognitive decline. Research has also
demonstrated a relationship between anxiety and reduced quality of life among female cancer
patients (Liu et al., 2022).
As much as anxiety is prevalent among female cancer patients, and it is a serious public
health concern, it has received little attention clinically and lacks effective management
strategies. The majority of female cancer patients are managed using pharmacological treatment
as a first line using selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, which have been demonstrated to
increase the mortality rate among female cancer patients. Therefore, there is a need for research
on alternative and complementary management strategies in dealing with anxiety among female
cancer patients to improve morbidity and mortality rates.
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TOPIC SEARCH STRATEGY
Meditation and yoga are treatment modalities that have been demonstrated to reduce
emotional disorders associated with the management of cancer (Gonzalez et al., 2021). It
significantly reduces sensory-perceptual judgments and establishes a close connection between
the mind and the body. Meditation and yoga can be a practically useful treatment modality for
anxiety among female cancer patients since it improves stress tolerance. This is a clear
demonstration that meditation and yoga treatment modalities can be utilized to alleviate anxiety
symptoms among female cancer patients and should be subjected to further research. This study
aims to compare the effectiveness of meditation/yoga treatment to medical treatment alone and
its influence on anxiety over three months of treatment among female cancer patients.
PICOT question- In female cancer patients, how does meditation/yoga treatment, compared to
medical treatment alone, influence anxiety over three months of treatment?
Level of evidence
The kind of question I developed for this research aims to evaluate the effectiveness of
meditation and yoga in treating anxiety among female cancer patients compared to medical
treatment alone over three months of treatment. The research aims to establish if patients
demonstrate an improvement in anxiety levels over the three-month treatment period. I utilized
the evidence pyramid to select cohort studies to analyze the research question. Randomized
controlled trials are known to have the highest level of evidence. However, the amount of
available literature to be included in this study needed to be increased for this particular question.
Cohort studies are longitudinal studies that follow research subjects over a particular period. This
kind of research subject shares similar characteristics, such as demographics.
Search strategy
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TOPIC SEARCH STRATEGY
During my research for articles to utilize in this research project, I utilized search terms
such as “anxiety,” “cancer patients,” “yoga,” “meditation,” “supportive care,” and “cancer
treatment.” I utilized databases such as PubMed to search and select articles that answered my
research question. Searching for particular topics in PubMed made selecting articles that
answered my research question easier since using search times yielded many results. Utilizing
the publication date also helped me narrow my search results. I also filtered my search to peer-
reviewed articles to select articles published within the last five years. Setting the publication
type to nursing-based articles also narrowed my search results. I utilized the publication date to
narrow my search results. I filtered to peer-reviewed articles published within the last ten years. I
also set the publication type to nursing-based articles to narrow my search results.
The main articles I settled for to help with my group work and next paper are;
1. Danhauer, S. C., Addington, E. L., Sohl, S. J., Chaoul, A., & Cohen, L. (2017). Review of
yoga therapy during cancer treatment.BSupportive Care in Cancer,B25, 1357-1372.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-016-3556-9
2. Agarwal, R. P., & Maroko-Afek, A. (2018). Yoga into cancer care: a review of the evidence-
based research.BInternational journal of yoga,B11(1), 3-29.
https://journals.lww.com/ijoy/fulltext/2018/11010/yoga_into_cancer_care__a_review_of_the.2.a
spx
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TOPIC SEARCH STRATEGY
The aim of the first article is to review various yoga research, both randomized controlled
trials and non-randomized treatment of various cancer patients who had utilized yoga as a
treatment modality for anxiety and depression. The aim of the second article was to present
findings on the prevalence of yoga and meditation as an alternative and safe treatment modality
among cancer patients. I chose these two articles to compare the effectiveness of meditation and
yoga to medical treatment alone in the management of anxiety among female cancer patients
over three months.
Conclusion
When carrying out research, developing a PICOT question is a good strategy to obtain
the desired results when looking for articles to include in a research project. Cohort studies are
vital in maintaining focus, eliminating bias, and conducting effective research. Besides, the use
of cohort studies will enhance the quality of our research project and ensure success in
completing our group project.
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TOPIC SEARCH STRATEGY
References
Agarwal, R. P., & Maroko-Afek, A. (2018). Yoga into cancer care: a review of the evidence-
based research.BInternational journal of yoga,B11(1), 3-29.
https://journals.lww.com/ijoy/fulltext/2018/11010/yoga_into_cancer_care__a_review_of
_the.2.aspx
Danhauer, S. C., Addington, E. L., Sohl, S. J., Chaoul, A., & Cohen, L. (2017). Review of yoga
therapy during cancer treatment.BSupportive Care in Cancer,B25, 1357-1372.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-016-3556-9
Gonzalez, M., Pascoe, M. C., Yang, G., de Manincor, M., Grant, S., Lacey, J., ... & Sarris, J.
(2021). Yoga for depression and anxiety symptoms in people with cancer: a systematic
review and meta‐analysis.BPsycho‐Oncology,B30(8), 1196-1208.
https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.5671
Liu, W., Liu, J., Ma, L., & Chen, J. (2022). Effect of mindfulness yoga on anxiety and
depression in early breast cancer patients received adjuvant chemotherapy: a randomized
clinical trial.BJournal of cancer research and clinical oncology,B148(9), 2549–2560.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00432-022-04167-y
Schmidt, N. A., & Brown, J. M. (2024).BEvidence-based practice for nurses: Appraisal and
application of research. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Schünemann, H. J., Mustafa, R. A., Brozek, J., Steingart, K. R., Leeflang, M., Murad, M. H., ...
& GRADE Working Group. (2020). GRADE guidelines: 21 part 1. Study design, risk of
bias, and indirectness in rating the certainty across a body of evidence for test
accuracy.BJournal of Clinical Epidemiology,B122, 129-141.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2019.12.020
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TOPIC SEARCH STRATEGY
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