Scholars@Duke
Hannah Fisher

Hannah Fisher

Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Behavioral Medicine & Neurosciences
hannah.fisher@duke.edu
DUMC Box # 102506, Durham, NC 27710
2400 Pratt Street, North Pavilion, 7th Floor, Room #7061, Durham, NC 27705

Selected Publications

Patient Attitudes toward Distress Screening and Referral in Glaucoma Care.

Journal Article Ophthalmol Glaucoma · September 18, 2025 A mixed-methods study of 300 glaucoma patients found strong support for screening and referral for psychological distress. Greater interest among those with elevated distress or higher intraocular pressure highlights an opportunity to integrate psychosocia ... Full text Link to item Cite

Insomnia and Related Symptom Severity in Women with Breast Cancer and Pain Receiving Treatment in Medically Underserved Areas.

Journal Article Behav Sleep Med · August 6, 2025 OBJECTIVES: Insomnia is common for women with breast cancer, and related to fatigue, depression, and pain. Research exploring these symptoms among breast cancer patients in medically underserved areas is lacking. This study aimed to characterize symptom se ... Full text Link to item Cite

Feasibility of a Mind-Body Program for Chronic Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Journal Article JAMA Netw Open · June 2, 2025 IMPORTANCE: Increasing physical function for individuals in chronic pain is challenging. Despite the Initiative on Methods, Measurement, and Pain Assessment in Clinical Trials guidelines, no pain trial has comprehensively assessed multimodal physical funct ... Full text Link to item Cite

Relationships between pain cognitions and physical function in a sample of racially diverse, sedentary individuals with chronic pain.

Journal Article Pain Pract · April 2025 BACKGROUND: Pain from musculoskeletal pain conditions is often persistent, bothersome, and negatively impacts physical function. Individuals with musculoskeletal pain report difficulty with walking and regular activities. For some, this may be related to o ... Full text Link to item Cite

Web-Based Pain Coping Skills Training (PCST) for Managing Aromatase Inhibitor-Associated Arthralgia in Breast Cancer Survivors: Randomized Controlled Trial Protocol.

Journal Article Contemp Clin Trials · February 2025 BACKGROUND: Aromatase inhibitors (AIs) are a cornerstone of adjuvant systemic therapy for postmenopausal patients with hormone-receptor positive (HR+) breast cancer. Although AIs decrease cancer recurrence rates and improve survival rates, approximately 50 ... Full text Link to item Cite

Management of adverse effects after inadvertent intrathecal injection of morphine in a dog undergoing thoracotomy.

Journal Article Vet Anaesth Analg · 2025 A 33-kg adult Labrador Retriever dog presented for investigation of pneumothorax. A computed tomography scan confirmed the diagnosis, and right lateral thoracotomy and lung lobectomy were performed under general anaesthesia. During surgery, anaesthesia was ... Full text Link to item Cite

Similarities and important distinctions between drug and behavioral intervention development.

Journal Article Discov Psychol · 2025 There has been a proliferation in behavioral intervention development due to guidelines recommending their use for managing common, distressing, and interfering symptoms (e.g., insomnia, pain, fatigue) resulting from medical disease (e.g., cancer) and its ... Full text Link to item Cite

Improving multimodal physical function in adults with heterogeneous chronic pain; Protocol for a multisite feasibility RCT.

Journal Article Contemp Clin Trials · March 2024 BACKGROUND: Chronic pain is associated with substantial impairment in physical function, which has been identified as a top concern among persons with pain. GetActive-Fitbit, a mind-body activity program, is feasible, acceptable, and associated with improv ... Full text Link to item Cite

Mindful Night-to-Day: A Pilot Feasibility Trial of a Mindfulness-Based Insomnia and Symptom Management Intervention for Patients with Hematologic Cancer.

Journal Article Behav Sleep Med · 2024 OBJECTIVES: Patients with hematologic cancer experience severe symptoms (i.e. insomnia, fatigue, pain, distress). Few interventions addressing insomnia and other symptoms exist for this population. Mindfulness-Based Therapy for Insomnia (MBTI) may be appro ... Full text Link to item Cite

Meaning-centered pain coping skills training for patients with metastatic cancer: Protocol for a randomized controlled efficacy trial.

Journal Article Contemp Clin Trials · December 2023 BACKGROUND: Many patients with advanced cancer describe pain as a debilitating symptom that greatly interferes with daily activities and enjoyment of life. Psychosocial interventions can improve cancer-related pain but rarely address spiritual concerns (e. ... Full text Link to item Cite

Breast cancer survivors with pain: an examination of the relationships between body mass index, physical activity, and symptom burden.

Journal Article Support Care Cancer · October 2, 2023 PURPOSE: Overweight and obesity are common for breast cancer survivors and associated with high symptom burden (i.e., pain, fatigue, depressive symptoms). Physical activity may protect breast cancer survivors with higher body mass indexes (BMI) from increa ... Full text Link to item Cite

Behavioral cancer pain intervention dosing: results of a Sequential Multiple Assignment Randomized Trial.

Journal Article Pain · September 1, 2023 Behavioral pain management interventions are efficacious for reducing pain in patients with cancer. However, optimal dosing of behavioral pain interventions for pain reduction is unknown, and this hinders routine clinical use. A Sequential Multiple Assignm ... Full text Link to item Cite

Cost-Effectiveness Analysis Evaluating Delivery Strategies for Pain Coping Skills Training in Women With Breast Cancer.

Journal Article J Pain · September 2023 Pain coping skills training (PCST) is efficacious in patients with cancer, but clinical access is limited. To inform implementation, as a secondary outcome, we estimated the cost-effectiveness of 8 dosing strategies of PCST evaluated in a sequential multip ... Full text Link to item Cite

Effect of Pain Coping Skills Training on Pain and Pain Medication Use for Women With Breast Cancer.

Journal Article J Pain Symptom Manage · July 2023 CONTEXT: Pain is distressing for women with breast cancer. Pain medication may not provide full relief and can have negative side-effects. Cognitive-behavioral pain intervention protocols reduce pain severity and improve self-efficacy for pain management. ... Full text Link to item Cite

Role of self-efficacy for pain management and pain catastrophizing in the relationship between pain severity and depressive symptoms in women with breast cancer and pain.

Journal Article J Psychosoc Oncol · 2023 PURPOSE: This study evaluated the relationship between pain and depressive symptoms through pain self-efficacy and pain catastrophizing in breast cancer patients with pain. DESIGN: Secondary analysis of a randomized trial investigating a cognitive-behavior ... Full text Link to item Cite

Hybrid-delivered cognitive behavioral symptom management and activity coaching intervention for patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplant: Findings from intervention development and a pilot randomized trial.

Journal Article J Psychosoc Oncol · 2023 OBJECTIVE: Develop and pilot test a mobile health (mHealth) cognitive behavioral coping skills training and activity coaching protocol (HCT Symptoms and Steps) for hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HCT) patients. DESIGN: Two-phase, mixed methods study. S ... Full text Link to item Cite

Does the Broaden-and-Build Theory Explain Reduction in Social Disruption After a Brief Relaxation Intervention for Women With Breast Cancer Undergoing Treatment?

Journal Article Behav Ther · September 2022 Women with breast cancer experience social disruption during and after treatment. Brief cognitive-behavioral (CBT) and relaxation (RT) interventions may improve social disruption by increasing positive affect. Using the Broaden-and-Build Theory as a framew ... Full text Link to item Cite

Relationships Between Serum Cortisol, RAGE-Associated s100A8/A9 Levels, and Self-Reported Cancer-Related Distress in Women With Nonmetastatic Breast Cancer.

Journal Article Psychosom Med · September 1, 2022 OBJECTIVE: Elevated inflammation and psychological distress in patients with breast cancer (BCa) have been related to poorer health outcomes. Regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and signaling of the receptor for advanced glycation end pro ... Full text Link to item Cite

Virtual reality for improving pain and pain-related symptoms in patients with advanced stage colorectal cancer: A pilot trial to test feasibility and acceptability.

Journal Article Palliat Support Care · August 2022 OBJECTIVE: Virtual reality (VR) has the potential to improve pain and pain-related symptoms. We examined the feasibility, acceptability, safety, and impact of a 30-min virtual underwater/sea environment (VR Blue) for reducing pain and pain-related symptoms ... Full text Link to item Cite

Pain, depressive symptoms, and self-efficacy for pain management: examination in African-American women with breast cancer.

Journal Article Support Care Cancer · August 2022 PURPOSE: African-American women with breast cancer face significant disparities, including high levels of pain. Depressive symptoms and self-efficacy for pain management impact how women with breast cancer manage pain, yet little is known about how these v ... Full text Link to item Cite

Designing Psychosocial Intervention Pilot Studies: A Tutorial for Palliative Care Investigators.

Journal Article J Pain Symptom Manage · June 2022 This is a tutorial on designing a persuasive pilot study of a psychosocial intervention (e.g., behavioral symptom management) in the palliative care setting. This tutorial is most relevant for early stages of intervention research that aims to progress tow ... Full text Link to item Cite

Greater Post-Surgical Pain Predicts Long-Term Depressed Affect in Breast Cancer Patients: The Role of Coping.

Journal Article Eur J Health Psychol · October 2021 BACKGROUND: Depressed affect is observed during primary treatment for early-stage breast cancer and often persists into survivorship. Pain can influence the long-term emotions of women with breast cancer. Behavioral mechanisms explaining this relationship ... Full text Link to item Cite

Feasibility, engagement, and acceptability of a behavioral pain management intervention for colorectal cancer survivors with pain and psychological distress: data from a pilot randomized controlled trial.

Journal Article Support Care Cancer · September 2021 PURPOSE: Colorectal cancer survivors report pain and psychological distress to be burdensome long-term cancer consequences. Quality cancer survivorship care includes interventions for managing these symptoms. Yet, no studies have tested the efficacy of an ... Full text Link to item Cite

Relationship between social support, physical symptoms, and depression in women with breast cancer and pain.

Journal Article Support Care Cancer · September 2021 PURPOSE: Fatigue and pain are common among women with breast cancer, and often related to depressive symptoms. Social support may influence levels of fatigue, pain interference, and depressive symptoms. We tested a theory-based, structural model examining ... Full text Link to item Cite

Behavioral cancer pain intervention using videoconferencing and a mobile application for medically underserved patients: Rationale, design, and methods of a prospective multisite randomized controlled trial.

Journal Article Contemp Clin Trials · March 2021 BACKGROUND: Women with breast cancer in medically underserved areas are particularly vulnerable to persistent pain and disability. Behavioral pain interventions reduce pain and improve outcomes. Cancer patients in medically underserved areas receive limite ... Full text Link to item Cite

The effects of a randomized trial of brief forms of stress management on RAGE-associated S100A8/A9 in patients with breast cancer undergoing primary treatment.

Journal Article Cancer · May 15, 2019 BACKGROUND: Women with breast cancer (BCa) experience heightened distress, which is related to greater inflammation and poorer outcomes. The s100 protein family facilitates the inflammatory response by regulating myeloid cell function through the binding o ... Full text Link to item Cite

Social comparisons predict health-related quality of life and depressive symptoms across the first year of breast cancer treatment.

Journal Article Psychooncology · February 2019 BACKGROUND: Social comparisons (SCs) are common among cancer patients, but their prospective associations are not well understood. This study examined concurrent and prospective relationships of SCs with health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and depressiv ... Full text Link to item Cite

Differential psychological effects of cognitive-behavioral stress management among breast cancer patients with high and low initial cancer-specific distress.

Journal Article J Psychosom Res · October 2018 OBJECTIVE: Cognitive-behavioral stress management (CBSM) improves adaptation to primary treatment for breast cancer (BCa), evidenced as reductions in distress and increases in positive affect. Because not all BCa patients may need psychosocial intervention ... Full text Link to item Cite

The effect of pre-transplant pain and chronic disease self-efficacy on quality of life domains in the year following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Journal Article Support Care Cancer · April 2018 PURPOSE: Pain is common for hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) patients and may be experienced pre-transplant, acutely post-transplant, and for months or years following transplant. HSCT patients with persistent pain may be at risk for poor quality ... Full text Link to item Cite

An mHealth Pain Coping Skills Training Intervention for Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Patients: Development and Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

Journal Article JMIR Mhealth Uhealth · March 19, 2018 BACKGROUND: Pain is a challenge for patients following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT). OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to develop and test the feasibility, acceptability, and initial efficacy of a Web-based mobile pain coping skills training (mP ... Full text Link to item Cite

How changes in physical activity relate to fatigue interference, mood, and quality of life during treatment for non-metastatic breast cancer.

Journal Article Gen Hosp Psychiatry · November 2017 OBJECTIVE: Physical activity (PA) following surgery for breast cancer may improve depressive symptoms and quality of life (QoL) via reduction in fatigue-related daily interference (FRDI). Less is known about how change in PA may relate to these psychosocia ... Full text Link to item Cite

An mHealth Pain Coping Skills Training Intervention for Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Patients: Development and Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial (Preprint)

Journal Article · July 27, 2017 BACKGROUNDPain is a challenge for patients following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT). Full text Cite

Cognitive problems following hematopoietic stem cell transplant: relationships with sleep, depression and fatigue.

Journal Article Bone Marrow Transplant · February 2017 Cognitive problems are a significant, persistent concern for patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT). Sleep is important for many cognitive tasks; however, the relationship between sleep and cognitive problems for HSCT patients is unk ... Full text Link to item Cite

Persistent Breast Pain Among Women With Histories of Breast-conserving Surgery for Breast Cancer Compared With Women Without Histories of Breast Surgery or Cancer.

Journal Article Clin J Pain · January 2017 OBJECTIVES: This study compared persistent breast pain among women who received breast-conserving surgery for breast cancer and women without a history of breast cancer. METHODS: Breast cancer survivors (n=200) were recruited at their first postsurgical su ... Full text Link to item Cite

Concerns about Breast Cancer, Pain, and Fatigue in Non-Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients Undergoing Primary Treatment.

Journal Article Healthcare (Basel) · August 26, 2016 Women diagnosed with breast cancer often endorse psychosocial concerns prior to treatment, which may influence symptom experiences. Among these, low perceived social support relates to elevated fatigue. Those with low social support perceptions may also ex ... Full text Link to item Cite

Psychological and behavioral approaches to cancer pain management.

Journal Article J Clin Oncol · June 1, 2014 This review examines evidence for psychological factors that affect pain across the cancer continuum from diagnosis through treatment and long-term survivorship or end of life. Evidence is convincing that emotional distress, depression, anxiety, uncertaint ... Full text Link to item Cite