title: Vision for improvement: Expressive writing as an intervention for people with Stargardt's disease, a rare eye disease.
abstract: This study implemented and evaluated the effectiveness of an expressive writing intervention among patients with Stargardt's disease, a rare disease due to macular degeneration. Participants were randomly assigned to either an expressive writing intervention or a neutral writing condition. Participants completed measures at three time points: baseline, 3 weeks, and 6 weeks post-intervention. Psychological health outcomes improved at the 3-week follow-up for the intervention condition compared to control. Self-reported physical health improved at the 6-week follow-up in the intervention condition compared to control. These results suggest that expressive writing may be an effective, practical, and low-cost intervention for those with Stargardt's disease.
authors.affiliation: University of Houston, USA JLBryan@central.uh.edu.
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Bryan
authors.affiliation: University of Houston, USA.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Lu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008268:Macular Degeneration / Q000151:congenital* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D035583:Rare Diseases; D000080362:Stargardt Disease; D014956:Writing; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: cost-effectiveness; disability; distress; intervention; physical symptoms