Posts by Joseph Andrew Greer, PhD
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Revolutionizing Palliative Care Delivery and Access to Improve Outcomes for Patients and Caregivers
Research at Massachusetts General Hospital is shifting how integrated palliative and oncology care is delivered to support patients with cancer and caregivers.
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Health-related Quality of Life Among Unmarried Patients Diagnosed With Lung Cancer Worse During COVID-19 Than Before
Laura A. Petrillo, MD, Joseph A. Greer, PhD, and colleagues report the COVID-19 pandemic is not further reducing health-related quality of life (HRQOL) or exacerbating depression among patients with advanced lung cancer. Still, HRQOL is worse among unmarried patients, driven by declines in functional well-being.
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Video and In-Person Palliative Care Delivery Challenges Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Joseph A. Greer, PhD, and colleagues began studying palliative care video visits two years before the COVID-19 pandemic. They say technical difficulties related to video visits improved early in the pandemic, while in-person visits became more difficult because patients' family members were more often absent.
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Palliative Care Benefits Patients Undergoing Stem Cell Transplantation
Massachusetts General Hospital researchers have found that even apart from medication for symptom control, palliative care has benefits for patients facing the prolonged hospitalization required for hemopoietic stem cell transplantation.
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Review: The Role of Coping in Palliative Care for Patients with Advanced Cancer
According to Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center researchers, offering palliative care early in the course of cancer treatment empowers patients and families to cope more successfully.
Biography
Dr. Joseph Greer is program director of the Center for Psychiatric Oncology & Behavioral Sciences and co-director of the Cancer Outcomes Research & Education Program at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center. He is also associate professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Greer's clinical work focuses on the delivery of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) to help patients and their families cope with cancer. In addition, he collaborates with a multidisciplinary research team of oncologists, nurses, palliative care physicians, psychiatrists and psychologists to develop and test supportive care interventions aimed at improving quality of life, mood and quality of care for patients with cancer. As the principal investigator and collaborator on numerous grant-funded projects, he is studying the application of CBT to treat anxiety in patients with advanced cancer; nurse-delivered behavioral interventions to improve breathlessness in patients with lung cancer; the use of mobile technology to promote symptom management and adherence to oral chemotherapy medications; and the benefits of early palliative care integrated with standard oncology care. Dr. Greer has received funding for this work from the National Institutes of Health, American Cancer Society, Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute and philanthropic donations.
Mass General Cancer Center
An integral part of one of the world’s most distinguished academic medical centers, the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center is among the leading cancer care providers in the United States.
