Name: Violet D’Souza

Institution: McGill University    
Email: violet.dsouza@mail.mcgill.ca

Project Title

Anxiety and depression in head and neck cancer patients

Short Project Description

Head and Neck (H&N) cancers are the 6th most common cancers among Canadian men over the age of 50.  A diagnosis of cancer leads to significant psychological challenges.  H&N cancer patients experience high levels of anxiety soon after their diagnosis, and it often goes unrecognized.  Anxiety is an important predictor in the development of depressive disorders and anxiety has show to increase the risk for depression about threefold.

Anxiety and depression have shown to interfere and complicate the management of cancer.  Cancer patients desire to know their illness and the treatment options better.  Providing information about illness and its management is one of the most important coping strategies used currently to decrease anxiety in many illnesses including cancer. Here we are testing a comprehensive tailored information package developed to meet the needs of the H&N cancer patients. 

My primary objective in this research is to determine if anxiety and depression decreases in H&N cancer patients if they receive comprehensive tailored information about their cancer.
The secondary objectives of this study are to investigate satisfaction levels and knowledge change in the H&N cancer patients after receiving the comprehensive tailored information.

We are conducting a prospective quasi-experimental study in stage III and IV H&N cancer patients.   We are recruiting 130 (2N) H&N cancer patients from the participating hospitals in Montreal.  Our test group will receive the Multimode Comprehensive Tailored Information Package (MCTIP), along with the standard care and our control group (n=65) will receive only the standard care.  We will collect data using Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Distress Thermometer (DT), Satisfaction with Cancer Information Profile (SCIP), and socio-demographic status at baseline, 3 and 6 months.

Academic Qualifications

Bachelor of Dental Surgery – Bangalore University, India
Masters in Restorative Dentistry – Helsinki University, Finland

Most Recent Publications

Humphris GM, Freeman R, Campbell J, Tuutti H, D'Souza V.  Further evidence for the reliability and validity of the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale.  Int Dent J. 2000 Dec;50(6):367-70.