Screening for psychologic distress in ambulatory cancer patients

Jacobsen, Paul B.; Donovan, Kristine A.; Trask, Peter C.; Fleishman, Stewart B.; Zabora, James; Baker, Frank; Holland, Jimmie C.

doi:10.1002/cncr.20940

Cited by 712 publications

(664 citation statements)

References 31 publications

(33 reference statements)

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“…and to rate on a 0 -10 scale his/her level of distress (0 ¼ no distress; 10 ¼ extreme distress). The DT has been shown to be a reliable instrument in several studies (Jacobsen et al, 2005;Dolbeault et al, 2008;Shim et al, 2008;Grassi et al, 2009Grassi et al, , 2010. For the aim of the SEPO study the List of Problems accompanying the DT was not used.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do spirituality and faith make a difference? Report from the Southern European Psycho-Oncology Study Group

et al. 2010

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Objective: In the last decade, some attention has been given to spirituality and faith and their role in cancer patients' coping. Few data are available about spirituality among cancer patients in Southern European countries, which have a big tradition of spirituality, namely, the Catholic religion. As part of a more general investigation (Southern European Psycho-Oncology Study -SEPOS), the aim of this study was to examine the effect of spirituality in molding psychosocial implications in Southern European cancer patients.Method: A convenience sample of 323 outpatients with a diagnosis of cancer between 6 to 18 months, a good performance status (Karnofsky Performance Status . 80), and no cognitive deficits or central nervous system (CNS) involvement by disease were approached in university and affiliated cancer centers in Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Switzerland (Italian speaking area). Each patient was evaluated for spirituality (Visual Analog Scale 0-10), psychological morbidity (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-HADS), coping strategies (Mini-Mental Adjustment to Cancer -Mini-MAC) and concerns about illness (Cancer Worries Inventory -CWI).Results. The majority of patients (79.3%) referred to being supported by their spirituality/ faith throughout their illness. Significant differences were found between the spirituality and non-spirituality groups ( p 0.01) in terms of education, coping styles, and psychological morbidity. Spirituality was significantly correlated with fighting spirit (r ¼ 20.27), fatalism (r ¼ 0.50), and avoidance (r ¼ 0.23) coping styles and negatively correlated with education (r ¼ 20.25), depression (r ¼ 20.22) and HAD total (r ¼ 20.17).Significance of results: Spirituality is frequent among Southern European cancer patients with lower education and seems to play some protective role towards psychological morbidity, specifically depression. Further studies should examine this trend in Southern European cancer patients.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do spirituality and faith make a difference? Report from the Southern European Psycho-Oncology Study Group

et al. 2010

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“…The Distress Thermometer (DT) is a brief screening tool assessing psychological distress in cancer patients [31,32]. The DT is a single-item 11-point scale ranging from 0 (no distress) to 10 (extreme distress) and respondents are instructed to circle the number that best describes how much distress they have been experiencing within the past week.…”

Section: Predictor Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The DT is a single-item 11-point scale ranging from 0 (no distress) to 10 (extreme distress) and respondents are instructed to circle the number that best describes how much distress they have been experiencing within the past week. A cut-off score of X4 is indicative of psychological distress and has been shown to be comparable with the HADS as a measure for identifying distressed cancer patients and is sensitive to respondents who do not meet anxiety or depression caseness [31].…”

Section: Predictor Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predictors of change in unmet supportive care needs in cancer

et al. 2010

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Objective: Patient Reported Outcome (PRO) assessments can assist health professionals to tailor their health practices to the individual needs of patients and improve patient care over time. The present study assessed prospective predictors of unmet supportive care needs in cancer patients over a six-month period.Methods: Participants were recruited from a regional cancer treatment centre in Australia and completed the Supportive Care Needs Survey (SCNS) at recruitment (n 5 439; 61.4% response rate) and six months follow-up (n 5 396). Hierarchical logistic regression was used to identify predictors of change in unmet needs across each supportive care domain. Predictor variables were socio-demographic, treatment and psychosocial factors including depression, anxiety, social support, and patient satisfaction.Results: Unmet needs were reported by approximately two-thirds of patients at baseline and half of patients at six months follow-up. Having unmet needs at baseline was the strongest predictor of unmet needs at six months. Longer time since diagnosis was a consistent predictor of greater unmet needs, associated with change in physical/daily living, psychological and health system and information unmet needs over time. By contrast, a complex relationship was found in that patient satisfaction, psychosocial and treatment characteristics predicted higher needs in some domains and lower needs in others.Conclusions: Unmet supportive care needs persist over time and psychological needs may emerge later in the illness continuum. Interventions to meet the needs of longer term cancer survivors are needed and should closely articulate with reported supportive care needs.

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“…In addition to the above factors, rates of distress often vary depending on age, sex, and site of cancer [11,[14][15][16]. Younger patients and women report higher levels of distress [7,11,14,15], and individuals with lung cancer, compared to individuals with other cancer diagnoses, also report higher levels of distress [15,17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distress screening in a multidisciplinary lung cancer clinic: Prevalence and predictors of clinically significant distress

et al. 2007

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SummaryScreening for distress in cancer patients is recommended by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, and a Distress Thermometer has previously been developed and empirically-validated for this purpose. The present study sought to determine the rates and predictors of distress in a sample of patients being seen in a multidisciplinary lung cancer clinic. Consecutive patients (N = 333) were recruited from an outpatient multidisciplinary lung cancer clinic to complete the Distress Thermometer, an associated Problem Symptom List, and two questions about interest in receiving help for symptoms. Over half (61.6%) of patients reported distress at a clinically significant level, and 22.5% of patients indicated interest in receiving help with their distress and/or symptoms. Problems in the areas of family relationships, emotional functioning, lack of information about diagnosis/treatment, physical functioning, and cognitive functioning were associated with higher reports of distress. Specific symptoms of depression, anxiety, pain and fatigue were most predictive of distress. Younger age was also associated with higher levels of distress. Distress was not associated with other clinical variables, including stage of illness or medical treatment approach. Similar results were obtained when individuals who had not yet received a definitive diagnosis of lung cancer (n = 134) were excluded from analyses; however, family problems and anxiety were no longer predictive of distress. Screening for distress in a multidisciplinary lung cancer clinic is feasible and a significant number of patients can be expected to meet clinical criteria for distress. Results also highlight younger age and specific physical and psychosocial symptoms as predictive of clinically-significant distress. Identification of the presence and predictors of distress are the first steps toward appropriate referral and treatment of symptoms and problems that contribute to cancer patients' distress.

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Screening for psychologic distress in ambulatory cancer patients

Cited by 712 publications

References 31 publications

Do spirituality and faith make a difference? Report from the Southern European Psycho-Oncology Study Group

Do spirituality and faith make a difference? Report from the Southern European Psycho-Oncology Study Group

Predictors of change in unmet supportive care needs in cancer

Distress screening in a multidisciplinary lung cancer clinic: Prevalence and predictors of clinically significant distress

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