Davidson, J. R., Waisberg, J. L., Brundage, M. D., & MacLean, A. W. (2001). Nonpharmacologic group treatment of insomnia: a preliminary study with cancer survivors. Psycho-Oncology, 10, 389–397.

To examine the initial efficacy of a sleep therapy program developed for treating insomnia in patients with cancer.

Participants received multimodal cognitive-behavioral therapy in five weekly group therapy sessions followed by a final sixth session held four weeks later. The sessions included stimulus control therapy, relaxation training, sleep consolidation strategies, and strategies to reduce cognitive-emotional arousal. Outcomes measured included several sleep-related measures, and several European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnare (EORTC QLQ-C30) measures, including role functioning, insomnia, and fatigue.

• The study was comprised of 14 participants, 12 of whom completed the study.
• Mean age was 54.7 years.
• Participants had mixed cancer diagnoses.
• Mean time from diagnosis was 33.6 months.

The study was conducted at outpatient clinics at a major cancer center in Ontario, Canada.
 

Patients were undergoing the long-term follow-up phase of care.

This was a repeated measure, quasiexperimental study with no control group.

• Sleep diary
• Sleep Impairment Index (SII)

Sleep improved from baseline to four weeks and to eight weeks after the intervention. Improved sleep measures included the number of awakenings, wake after sleep onset, and sleep efficiency.

• The study had a small sample size.
• The participants were relatively healthy.
• The study only used self-reported data.
• There was no placebo control group.
• The duration of effects after eight weeks was unknown.
• Space was needed to provide the intervention.