Mental health, functional impairment, and barriers to mental health access among cancer patients in Vietnam

Abstract

Objective: This study evaluated the prevalence and severity of depression and anxiety symptomatology, barriers to mental health access, and correlates of functional impairment among cancer inpatients. Methods:This cross-sectional study recruited adult cancer patients (N = 300) in June and July 2022 at the largest oncological hospital in Vietnam. Multivariable linear regression analyses examined the association between demographics, clinical characteristics, and patients' functional impairment.Results: Approximately 46.3% and 27.0% showed some depression and anxiety symptomatology, while 8.0% and 3.0% experienced major depressive and anxiety symptoms, respectively. Patients reported the most impairment in mobility and capacity for life activities. More functional impairment was identified in patients with gastrointestinal cancers, those receiving radiation therapy alone, and those scoring higher on depression and anxiety than in those with cancers originating in the head, neck, or lung or those receiving chemotherapy alone. Reports of better overall health status were negatively associated with functional impairment. Patients reported extensive perceived barriers to seeking psychiatric care, including not knowing where to get mental health support (86.7%), wanting to manage mental health independently (73.7%), and thinking mental health will resolve on its own (73.7%), and denying mental health concerns (61.0%). Conclusion:High frequency and severity of depression and anxiety symptomatology underscore the importance of integrating mental health services into existing oncological treatment protocols. Increasing mental health literacy and provision of psychoeducation is critical to addressing barriers to mental health service access.Integration of functional impairment evaluations into hospital admission and discharge planning is also needed.

Mediating roles of positive cognitive emotion regulation and sense of coherence in the relationship between family hardiness and post-traumatic growth among patients with lung cancer undergoing chemotherapy

“…The results of this study showed that PTG, SOC, and FH in patients with lung cancer undergoing chemotherapy were signi cantly and positively correlated, and SOC partially mediated the relationship between PTG and FH, which was consistent with Hypothesis 3 and the resilience theory. [70]. All these pathways alleviate the uncertainty of the disease in patients with lung cancer undergoing chemotherapy and help them develop positive qualities, such as optimism, hope, and bravery.…”

Adult cancer patients’ barriers to and satisfaction with care at a National Cancer Hospital in Vietnam

“…This cross-sectional study employed face-to-face surveys using the Research Electronic Data Capture at the largest specialized oncological hospital at the national level in Vietnam between June and July 2022. The methodology, including sample size calculation and sampling strategies, was described in our previous publication [ 15 ]. Particularly, we recruited cancer patients from six chemotherapy units and four radiotherapy units.…”

“…If there were fewer than 30 patients, all were included; otherwise, a convenience sample was drawn for departments with more than 30 patients. Adults (≥18 years) diagnosed with cancer and undergoing treatment were eligible to participate [ 15 ]. A total of 300 patients were included in the analyses.…”

“…Each item was rated on a scale from 1 (none) to 5 (extremely difficult), and a summary score (12–60) was calculated by summing all individual item score, with higher scores suggesting higher disability or loss of function. The Cronbach’s alpha in our cohort showed excellent internal consistency (0.93) [ 15 ].…”

“…Data on patients’ cancer diagnoses and treatment was retrieved from medical records including primary cancer site, cancer metastatic stage, diagnosis date, treatment date, and oncological treatment methods. Additionally, patients were asked about immediate family members’ cancer history (yes vs. no), and the number of treatment visits to the study hospital [ 15 ].…”