Psychosocial distress in haematological cancer survivors: An integrative review

Abstract

Haematological cancers are becoming more prevalent, however, survival is also increasing. Many survivors are faced with psychosocial issues after treatment ends, and they may not receive the support they need. This review aims to examine peer reviewed literature reporting psychosocial distress faced by haematological cancer survivors in the early post-treatment period. Database and hand searches were conducted between August and September 2015, with no year restriction. Eligible studies were those reporting on psychosocial sequelae in haematological cancer survivors up to 5 years post-treatment. The search yielded 512 studies, of these only seven (five quantitative and two qualitative) included data that addressed psychosocial distress in early post-treatment haematological cancer survivors. Data were thematically analysed to explore the presence and nature of distress. Most studies reported mild to moderate distress for survivors, with some evidence that younger age was an indicator of increased distress. However, predominately this review identified a gap in current literature regarding distress among this group of survivors. More research is needed to address the psychosocial issues facing this growing survivor group, to enable them to receive the support required to maintain good physical and psychological health in this period of the cancer trajectory and into the future.

More frequent use of health care services among distressed compared with nondistressed survivors of lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia: Results from the population‐based PROFILES registry

“…It is important to learn what support might benefit survivors of lymphoma and CLL. 45 The results of the current study demonstrated that patients who are psychologically distressed more often reported having received psychosocial care after treatment compared with nondistressed survivors, which is positive. Conversely, fewer than 1 in every 3 distressed survivors of lymphoma and CLL received psychosocial care.…”

“…Many survivors are faced with psychosocial issues, and they may not receive the support they need. It is important to learn what support might benefit survivors of lymphoma and CLL . The results of the current study demonstrated that patients who are psychologically distressed more often reported having received psychosocial care after treatment compared with nondistressed survivors, which is positive.…”

“…The use of psychosocial care services is greater among younger survivors, females, those with ≥2 comorbid conditions, and those who received systemic therapy. Raphael et al found that younger age was an indicator of increased distress, which might explain the greater use of psychosocial care services noted among younger survivors herein. Furthermore, the results of the current study correspond to those of a study that observed a greater use of psychosocial care services among younger survivors, those with more comorbid conditions, and those with psychological problems .…”

The nature and timing of distress among post-treatment haematological cancer survivors

“…A semi‐structured interview schedule was developed to address the aims and objectives of the research. The interview questions were informed by our previous integrative review (Raphael et al, ) and an extensive review of cancer survivorship literature reporting on psychosocial issues in survivors of other types of cancer. The interview guide was also pilot tested on a convenience sample of three people (one cancer survivor, one family member of a cancer survivor, and an oncology nurse) to ascertain whether the questions were easily understood, and to assess the length of the interview.…”

“…The time where treatment is coming to an end, and a patient is transitioning into survivorship, brings its own set of challenges (Stanton et al, ). However, a recent integrative review conducted by the authors (Raphael, Frey, & Gott, ) concluded that there is very little literature that focuses on distress among haematological cancer survivors in the early post‐treatment phase. Only seven papers were identified that contained data on post‐treatment haematological survivors; however, these studies did show that the majority of survivors suffered at least mild to moderate distress.…”