From Distress Screening to Uptake: An Italian Multicenter Study of Cancer Patients.
Cancers (Basel)
; 13(15)2021 Jul 27.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-34359662
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
Little consideration is given to the referral and uptake of available supportive services after distress screening. However, identifying the reasons for accepting or refusing help is mandatory for implementing a screening policy. The present study explored the practical usefulness of and potential barriers to the application of distress management.METHODS:
406 cancer patients were consecutively selected and asked to complete the Distress Thermometer (DT) and Problem Check List (PL). All patients with a DT score ≥6 were invited for a post-DT telephone interview with a trained psychologist.RESULTS:
The 112 patients who refused to take part were more often older, retired, at a more advanced stage of illness, and with no previous experience of psychological intervention with respect to those who accepted. Of the 78 patients with a score ≥6 who were referred to the Psycho-Oncology Service, 65.4% accepted the telephone interview. Twenty-two patients rejected the initial invitation immediately for various reasons including logistic difficulties, physical problems, and feeling embarrassed about opening up to a psychologist.CONCLUSIONS:
Our study confirms that screening per sé is insufficient to deal with the problem of distress and that more emphasis should be placed on implementing referral and treatment.
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Tipo de estudo:
Clinical_trials
/
Diagnostic_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Screening_studies
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Cancers (Basel)
Ano de publicação:
2021
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Itália