Re-activating life skills in cancer patients through expressive-creative workshops: A qualitative exploratory study.

Background: Cancer strongly impacts on patients' lives, undermining their life skills. This research aimed to explore the perception of efficacy of participants in a series of expressive-creative workshops (ArtLab) designed to reactivate life skills in cancer patients.Methods:Quotations of two semi-structured focus groups with ten participants in ArtLab (Mean Age = 59; SD = 11.19) enrolled at [Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori] have been analyzed through a priori (top-down) thematic analysis which allowed us to identify life skills provided by WHO 1948: Emotional, Relational and Cognitive.Results:Thematic analysis showed ArtLab program's effectiveness, especially regarding Emotional and Relational life skills. Cognitive skills, instead, seemed to be only partially expressed. Sub-themes articulation for each life skill has been discussed.Conclusion:This study provides encouraging results with respect to the effectiveness of expressive-creative group workshops among cancer patients.