Role of Biopsychosocial Screening in Cancer Care

Abstract

This review focuses on the aspects of biopsychosocial screening that have specific and significant implications for supportive care related to cancer care and research. There is a robust literature relating to the unmet supportive care needs of cancer patients and their families and the clinical interventions needed to effectively manage many of their problems. The Zeitgeist movement, which promotes the idea that the resources of this planet are the inherent right of all peoples, is also uniquely aligned to see supportive care services in oncology bringing significant value (cost and quality) to a health care system that is experiencing great uncertainty. Overall, there is a broadening of perspective within the supportive care community that there needs to be greater levels of interdisciplinary integration. More significantly, there is a growing realization that for cancer care to be truly patient and family centered and even minimally efficient, disease-directed care and supportive care need to be integrated from the time of diagnosis. The coordination of these services should not be based on the stage of the disease but rather tailored to the needs of the patient, family, and social context. Biopsychosocial screening programs have the potential to be the connective tissue of these patient- and family-centered systems.

Walls or Bridges: “No Gobbledygook”: The International Psycho‐Oncology Society 2017 Sutherland Award Lecture

“…Biopsychosocial screening has created the impetus for teams to collaborate at levels of complexity not required before and has become the connective tissue of cancer care. One underappreciated benefit of biopsychosocial distress screening has been enhanced team communication, coordination, and the collaboration it takes to manage referrals from screening processes …”

Attending to distress as part of quality, comprehensive cancer care: gaps and diversity considerations

“…4 At City of Hope, Matt Loscalzo has successfully implemented voluntary distress screening of all patients (including Chinese and Spanish language preferred) using an online platform administered using handheld electronic devices. 5, 6 The report is shared and linked with relevant services including medical, pyschooncology, supportive care and chaplaincy for rapid and patient responsive triage and care. However, gaps exist in determining the specific measures, format and intervals of distress assessment.…”

Anxio- depressive Syndrome – Biopsychosocial Model of Supportive Care

“…Integrovaný bio psychosociálny model multidisciplinárnej zdravotnej starostlivosti sa v onkológi začína uplatňovať čoraz viac [28][29][30]. Pokrok sa dosiahol najmä v oblasti metodológie dia gnózy a liečby emocionálneho distresu [31]. Pri zvládaní emocionálnych prejavov ako dôsledku stresu sa potvrdil pozitívny efekt cielenej psychosociálnej intervencie a farmakoterapie ako formy adjuvantnej terapie psychosociálnych dysfunkcií [32,33].…”