“Optimism Is a Strategy for Making a Better Future”

Abstract. Cancer is a deadly disease that can lead to psychological suffering and decreased quality of life (QoL). Personality has been proven to have an effect on QoL and, in particular, Dispositional Optimism (DO) has been studied in relation to overcoming health crisis. The aim of this systematic review is to deepen the state of art of the relationship between QoL and DO in cancer patients. PubMed and Embase databases were systematically searched. Fifteen studies were included with a total of 5,249 cancer patients. All of the studies consider the relationship between DO and QoL, some studies analyze the correlation between the two variables and found a positive association. The majority of the studies investigate the predictive power of DO over QoL and most of them found DO to be predictive of a higher QoL. Results confirmed the association between DO and QoL in a sample of cancer patients. These results could influence the clinical practice as DO has been proven to have a beneficial effect on mental and physical health.

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Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Teacher Quality of Life: A Longitudinal Study from before and during the Health Crisis

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18073764 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (7) ◽

pp. 3764

Author(s):

Pablo A. Lizana ◽

Gustavo Vega-Fernadez ◽

Alejandro Gomez-Bruton ◽

Bárbara Leyton ◽

Lydia Lera

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Longitudinal Design ◽

Short Form ◽

Stress Factors ◽

Health Crisis ◽

Work Overload ◽

Factors Associated ◽

Sf 36 ◽

Mental And Physical Health

Background: Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers were already reporting a low quality of life (QoL) perception, with a significant impact on mental and physical health due to various stress factors associated with work overload. The objective of this study was to evaluate the QoL impact on Chilean teachers before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis was performed following a longitudinal design on a sample of 63 Chilean teachers in pre-pandemic and COVID-19 pandemic timeframes. QoL perception, along with teachers’ sociodemographic data, was evaluated via the Short-Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36) questionnaire. Sociodemographic variables presented no significant variations in pre-pandemic and pandemic comparisons. QoL, however, showed a significant decrease during the pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic measurement (p < 0.01). In each gender, there were significant differences between pre-pandemic and pandemic timeframes, with a greater impact among women in the mental and physical component summary variables and seven of the eight QoL scales (p < 0.01). Between age categories, people under 45 presented significant differences (p < 0.05) between pre-pandemic and pandemic timeframes in all summary dimensions and measurements. In conclusion, Chilean teachers’ QoL perception has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings could be related to work overload due to teleworking or feelings of uncertainty, loneliness, and fear that the pandemic and its associated confinements will worsen.

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The relationship between symptom prevalence, body image, and quality of life in Asian gynecologic cancer patients

Psycho-Oncology ◽

10.1002/pon.4457 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 27 (1) ◽

pp. 69-74 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Irene Teo ◽

Yin Bun Cheung ◽

Timothy Yong Kuei Lim ◽

Rama Padmavathi Namuduri ◽

Victoria Long ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Body Image ◽

Cancer Patients ◽

Gynecologic Cancer ◽

Symptom Prevalence ◽

The Relationship

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A Study on the Relationship among Family Support, Stress and Quality of Life on according to the Phases of Illness in Breast Cancer Patients

Korean Journal of Women Health Nursing ◽

10.4069/kjwhn.2010.16.1.10 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

pp. 10 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Sang Sun Cheon ◽

So Young Choi

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Quality Of Life ◽

Family Support ◽

Cancer Patients ◽

Breast Cancer Patients ◽

The Relationship

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Examining the linkage between class attendance at university and academic performance in an International Branch Campus setting

Research in Comparative and International Education ◽

10.1177/1745499920958855 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 15 (4) ◽

pp. 371-390

Author(s):

Ajit Karnik ◽

Pallavi Kishore ◽

Mohammad Meraj

Keyword(s):

Academic Performance ◽

Quantile Regression ◽

Positive Association ◽

Branch Campus ◽

Class Attendance ◽

International Branch Campus ◽

Attendance Policy ◽

Parent Institution ◽

The Relationship

The relationship between class attendance and academic performance has been an important area of research, with a positive association being posited between the two. The setting for our study is an International Branch Campus (IBC) of a British university that needs to demonstrate the quality of its service delivery both to the parent institution and to the fee-paying students. We employ a dataset of over 900 students in an undergraduate degree programme and subject it to statistical techniques, namely quantile regression and two-stage quantile regression. Our results show that attendance has a beneficial influence on academic performance and this benefit persists at higher percentile of grades. We propose that IBCs could consider an attendance policy that encourages students to attend classes.

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