dr. Clara Leyns (PhD)

My research is currently focused on:

• Research priorities for psychosocial oncology and survivorship: A James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership. 
  Oncological patient-centred approaches have contributed to significant advances to include patients' preferences, values, and personal experiences in healthcare decisions and research activities. However, in order to make research findings clinically relevant and important, and hence translate them into clinical practice, patients (together with their carers and clinicians) should already be involved in shaping research questions and ideas that matter to them. Therefore, within this project we aim to shift from a patient-centred approach towards a patient-as-partner approach.
   
• Stepped-care exercise and psychosocial pathway to address symptom clusters in lung, prostate and breast cancer patients. Advances in diagnosis and treatment of cancer patients led to significant improvements in survival. However, these improvements come with an increase in the complexity of the patient care. (Ex-)cancer patients experience a variety of symptoms such as fatigue, anxiety, sexual dysfunctions, or sleep problems, each with a different frequency and intensity. These side effects (symptom clusters) cause a reduced quality of life in (former) cancer patients and bring costs for society. Given the increasing number of ex-cancer patients, and the associated side effects, there is growing interest in a care model in which self-management plays a central role. This project aims to form a stepped-care pathway to address a symptom cluster in lung, prostate and breast cancer patients. 
   

• Lab address : campus UZ Gent, Corneel Heymanslaan 10, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
• LinkedIn
• Biblio UGent
• Researchgate
• Clara Leyns  is interested to receive invitations for presentations or talks