Cancer patients' desire for psychological support: prevalence and implications for screening patients' psychological needs

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate cancer patients' desire for psychological support and to identify patients' sociodemographic, disease-related and psychological factors associated with this desire.Methods: The study is part of a multicenter, cross-sectional study assessing cancer patients' needs and desire for psychological support. Patients completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Ways of Coping Checklist, the Cancer Rehabilitation Evaluation System and reported their desire for psychological support.Results: Among the 381 included patients, women (26%) desired psychological support significantly more often than men (11%) (po0.001). Patients' desire for psychological support was associated with being younger (OR 5 0.94; po0.001 for women and OR 5 0.93; p 5 0.007 for men) and having a support-seeking coping (OR 5 1.10; p 5 0.010 for women and OR 5 1.36; p 5 0.003 for men). Other contextual factors such as difficulties encountered and treatment modalities were diversely associated with women and men's desire for psychological support. Neither women's, nor men's psychological distress was associated with their desire for psychological support.Conclusions: One female cancer patient out of four and one male cancer patient out of ten desire psychological support. Results emphasize the need to screen not only for cancer patients' distress but also for their desire for psychological support. This will allow implementing psychological interventions according to patients' needs and desire.

Perception of Patients with Cancer towards Support Management Services and Use of Complementary Alternative Medicine - a Single Institution Hospital-Based Study in Saudi Arabia

“…Many studies have shown the need for the cancer patient to receive psychological support (Ernstmann et al, 2009;Goldzweig et al, 2010). In a German study, 18.9% of patients indicated an unmet need for psychosocial support and 9.5% of patients were actually using psychosocial services; that need was higher in female patients (Merckaert et al, 2010).…”

Desire for psychological support in cancer patients with depression or distress: validation of a simple help question

“…Reasons given were that they had no need (n 5 17), they found it too burdensome (n 5 16) or they had received psychosocial treatment previously (n 5 1) [23]. Merckaert et al (2009) examined predictors of desire for help. Younger people, working men and women receiving hormone therapy had a greater desire for psychological support [24].…”

The Nurse as the Discussion Opener During Ward Rounds: An Observation Study in the Wards of a Finnish University Hospital

“…However, in earlier studies [23,24], it has been noted that nurses of oncological and surgical patients also support the patient in a psychologically difficult life situation. The presence of other patients in the patient room may also affect the fact that nurses do not open a discussion on feelings and mood.…”