Attitudes and preferences about the Stepped-Care Model of depression treatment in oncology: a pilot study

The current pilot study examines the feasibility of conducting a full-scale study that utilizes a survey-based cross-sectional methodological design. The purpose was to systematically explore the attitudes about the Stepped-Care (SC) Model of depression treatment, specific treatment preferences for depression, and client characteristics of a sample of women diagnosed with breast cancer. A total of 26 women were recruited from a breast cancer clinic located in the Northeastern United States. Preliminary results indicated that participants on average rated treatments within the SC Model as acceptable, tended to prefer step three (e.g. psychotherapy, medication, or a combined approach) or step two (e.g. self-help, or psychoeducation) of the SC Model, and tended to express strong to very strong preferences. Additionally, correlational analysis indicated moderate to strong significant relationships between the severity of depressive symptoms, quantified resilience, and emotional and cognitive perceptions of the illness. The current pilot study\u27s preliminary results are to be interpreted with caution and guide future directions in conducting a full-scale study with a larger and more representative sample