Evaluation of an informational pamphlet on distress and perceptions of supportive care for men with prostate cancer

Abstract

Background: Many men with prostate cancer experience elevated levels of anxiety and distress which may interfere with their quality of life. Furthermore, there are challenges to providing supportive care in regional centers such as transportation difficulties. The purpose of this collaborative research project was to evaluate an informational pamphlet, and explore self-ratings of various emotional symptoms and optimal ways to provide psychosocial oncology to men with prostate cancer in a regional cancer centre. Methods: Men with prostate cancer accessing medical treatment were invited to complete a survey about their emotional experiences and completed a quality of life measure. These men were given an informational pamphlet on distress, and were contacted approximately three weeks later to evaluate the pamphlet and the quality of life measure was re-administered. Qualitative comments on supportive care were elicited. Results: Sixty-four men participated in the initial survey and 50 (78%) completed the evaluation of the pamphlet. The pamphlet was reported to be easy to read and contained useful information, though men would have preferred to receive this information at an earlier time. Distress and quality of life scores were similar to other samples of men with prostate cancer, and there were no statistically significant differences in quality of life scores for patients receiving radiation (n = 44) compared to the other types (n = 15) of medical treatment (F (1, 57) = 0.610, P < 0.438). Of the emotional symptoms, ''worry'' and ''anxiety'' were rated as most problematic and ''distress'' as least problematic. Conclusions: Overall, participants rated the pamphlet as very good, though improvements in content and timing are warranted. While many men did not report high levels of distress, there remains a concern for a few patients with elevated levels of distress and patients who expressed difficulty accessing counselling support.