Unmet psychological, social, and economic needs of persons with cancer in pennsylvania

Abstract

Six hundred twenty-nine persons with cancer (PWC) selected from the Pennsylvania Cancer Registry plus 397 nonprofessional (support) persons involved in their care (SP) were interviewed to determine their views of the unmet psychological, social and economic needs of PWC. The most frequently mentioned unmet need was for help in dealing with emotional problems (estimated at 25% of PWC state-wide). Other unmet need estimates ranged from 14% for financial to 4% for transportation, with 59% of PWC reporting at least one unmet need. Characteristics of PWC reporting unmet needs included being younger, a history of emotional problems, a chronic illness in addition to cancer, more advanced stage at diagnosis, and a diagnosis of lung cancer. The percent of PWC and CP reporting unmet needs were very similar. These findings indicate that more effective screening for psychosocial problems and referral to supportive services is needed.

Identifying priorities of psychosocial need in cancer patients

“…These findings are in accordance with results from previous studies (Stam et al, 1986;Houts et al, 1986;Sullivan et al, 1986). Therefore, psychosocial intervention should focus on these principal areas of need for cancer patients in order to be maximally effective.…”

“…Previous studies have identified many categories of psychosocial need for cancer patients using different methods of assessment (Watson, 1983;Heinrich et al, 1984;Houts et al, 1986;Stam et al, 1986;Sullivan et al, 1986). Some provide valuable qualitative information on the needs of patients through interviews using open-ended questions, while others provide quantitative results by means of forced-choice response questions.…”

“…'spiritual or personal growth'; Houts et al, 1986) were omitted on the basis of their lower prevalence reported in the literature or their specificity (e.g. 'waiting time': (Heinrich et al, 1984); subsumed under 'dealing with hospital staff).…”

Needs of cancer patients treated in rural and urban cancer departments

“…1 Such results are uniform with other research, which show high levels of unmet needs in the psychological 7,12,14 physical/daily living [15][16][17] and communication/information domains. 14 The survey by Sanson-Fisher et al 1 also demonstrated that subgroups of patients encountered different types of needs.…”

The initial development of an instrument to assess the psychosocial needs and unmet needs of young people who have a parent with cancer: piloting the offspring cancer needs instrument (OCNI)

“…Such research is important for a number of reasons: It allows for a more detailed understanding of how young people who have a parent with cancer perceive, experience and express their needs [11], and it provides direct assessment of the type, number and magnitude of these needs and whether they have been met. An important application of such knowledge is in the planning of better psychosocial intervention programs for this group [11,16], particularly as clinicians and service providers move from service-led toward need-led practice [17]. Finally, a need-based research can also lead to an understanding of the factors that contribute to resilience in these young people, which may help to prevent or reduce the likelihood of developing long-term mental health problems.…”