Oncology health care professionals' perspectives on the causes of mental health distress in cancer patients

Abstract

Objective To explore oncologists, social workers, and nurses' perceptions about the causes of their cancer patient's mental health distress. Methods The grounded theory (GT) method of data collection and analysis was used. Sixty‐one oncology health care professionals were interviewed about what they perceived to be the causes of mental health distress in their patients. Analysis involved line‐by‐line coding and was inductive, with codes and categories emerging from participants' narratives. Results Oncology health care professionals were sensitive in their perceptions of their patients' distress. The findings were organized into three categories, namely, disease‐related factors, social factors, and existential factors. Disease‐related themes included side effects of the disease and treatment, loss of bodily functions, and body image concerns as causing patient's mental health distress. Social‐related themes included socio‐economic stress, loneliness/lack of social support, and family‐related distress. Existential themes included dependence/fear of being a burden, death anxiety, and grief and loss. Conclusions Oncology health care professionals were able to name a wide range of causes of mental health distress in their patients. These findings highlight the need to have explicit conversations with patients about their mental status and to explore their understanding of their suffering. A patient‐centered approach that values the patient's conceptualization of their problem and their narrative to understanding their illness can improve the patient‐provider relationship and facilitate discussions about patient‐centered treatments.

Body image in patients with different types of cancer

“…As a result of all this, there is no doubt that cancer and its treatment can negatively affect a person’s body image. Furthermore, research indicates that a diminished body image satisfaction can have negative consequences on physical and psychological health, interpersonal relationships, lead to psychological distress and thus impair quality of life [ 21 – 26 ].…”

Progression-free survival and quality of life in metastatic breast cancer: The patient perspective

“…We note the large body of published evidence highlighting the role of oncology nurses in patient care, and in particular their sensitivity to the impact of disease and treatment on patient health and well-being. Future work exploring this subject would benefit from inclusion of oncology nurse perspectives [ [46] , [47] , [48] ].…”

Patient-caregiver communication concordance in cancer—refinement of the Cancer Communication Assessment Tool in an Australian sample

“…Patients and their loved ones can avoid discussion of prognosis [ 35 ] and lack the confidence to initiate dialogue with health practitioners [ 36 ] and hence stay away from conversations about end-of-life decisions for fear that these might provoke distress [ 37 ]. This general protectiveness about avoiding distress [ 38 ] may block important discussions and limit openness to ACP. Despite this, and unlike the findings from the original study, we were unable to show a significant correlation between the CCAT-PF and patient depression and quality of life domain scores.…”