Integrating psycho-oncology services in cancer care in India

‘Patients with Cancer are Distressed!’ Indian Healthcare Provider Perspectives on Distress Screening and Referrals to Psycho-oncology Services – A Mixed Methods Study

“…An Indian study reported similar findings that described the benefits of having professional and trained psycho-oncology professionals to implement strategies to improve visibility of services. [13] From a research standpoint, a systematic review conducted in India suggested the need for concentrated efforts from interested clinicians and psychooncology professionals to bring to the forefront the relevance of psychosocial research in a clinical setting. [47] We believe to the best of our knowledge that this was the first study in India which explored healthcare providers perspectives about distress screening system and POS in a cancer setting.…”

“…[ 29 ] Thus, we understand from literature that the success of any distress screening system is measured only when distress scores are reviewed and acknowledged by oncologists so as to appropriately provide psychological support to patients in a timely manner. [ 13 , 30 ] Healthcare providers in our study relied on their clinical judgement about distress which resulted in lesser utilisation of the POS services. However, we understand that patients are often more receptive to talk about their emotional concerns with their healthcare providers and their recommendation/referral was one of the strongest predictors for patients to avail POS.…”

“…[9][10][11][12] Routine distress screening in larger centres in India is a challenge due to the sheer volume of patients, lack of trained workforce, financial constraints and the absence of standard distress screening guidelines. [13] However, some centres in the country are positively trying to adapt distress screening procedures where there is availability of a dedicated team to handle psychosocial distress. [14] In this context, healthcare providers also have role to play along with care administrators in the implementation of distress screening and management protocols to further improve psychosocial care.…”

The unmet need of psycho-oncology services for integrated cancer care in India: a review

“…The developments and research in this field have not percolated in the Indian oncology community and its practice is not yet well known in the country. [33][34][35] India has only three institutions that provide psychooncology degree courses -Cancer Institute (WIA), Adyar, Chennai; Center of Psycho-oncology for Education and Research (COPER), Bangalore, and Tata Medical Center, Kolkata. For a country with a large demography, with rising incidence of cancer, this is definitely not a sufficient number.…”

“…For a country with a large demography, with rising incidence of cancer, this is definitely not a sufficient number. 34 Hospitals in urban areas have started making attempts to incorporate psycho-oncology services in their cancer care program but, due to lack of a structured approach and in the absence of national data or guidelines, these isolated efforts will need significant leverage to cater to all cancer patients. Some private institutes are providing training in the field as well as some interested professionals are training from the international institutes and societies to serve these patients but, the recognition and opportunities that these professionals need are not yet available.…”