Experiences of healthcare professionals with support for mesothelioma patients and their relatives: Identified gaps and improvements for care.

OBJECTIVE: To assess perspectives and experiences of healthcare professionals and other relevant stakeholders regarding psychosocial support and palliative care in mesothelioma patients and their relatives, to identify gaps and to explore potential improvements in current healthcare. METHODS: Individual, semi-structured interviews were conducted with healthcare professionals and other relevant stakeholders. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically using ATLAS.ti. RESULTS: In total, 16 respondents participated in an interview (69% women; mean age: 51.8 years (SD 12.41; range 28-75)). Four key themes were identified: (1) availability of tailored psychosocial and palliative care, (2) timely integration and organisation of psychosocial support and palliative care, (3) differences in provided support and care between healthcare professionals and hospitals and (4) training of healthcare professionals and stakeholders on psychosocial problems. CONCLUSION: Our study showed that psychosocial support and palliative care for patients with mesothelioma could be improved. A more fluent transition between primary and secondary cancer care and early integration of psychosocial support and palliative care is advised. Lastly, more attention is needed for psychosocial and palliative care in the basic medical training of healthcare professionals.

Unmet supportive care needs of patients with rare cancer: A systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: Patients with rare cancers may experience different unmet needs than those with common cancer. The objective of this systematic review was to (1) investigate unmet supportive care needs of rare cancer patients throughout the disease trajectory and (2) identify predictive factors for these unmet needs. METHODS: PubMed, PsycINFO and CINAHL were searched for publications (January 2011 to March 2021) focusing on unmet needs of patients with rare cancer. Two reviewers independently selected studies, extracted data and performed quality assessment. Findings were synthesised. RESULTS: The search yielded 4,598 articles, of which 59 articles met eligibility criteria and 57 were of medium or high quality. Rare cancer patients most frequently reported unmet needs in the healthcare system and information domain (up to 95%), followed by the psychological domain (up to 93%) and the physical and daily living domain (up to 80%). Unmet needs were mainly reported in the posttreatment phase. The most frequently identified predictors were higher anxiety, younger age and higher neuroticism. CONCLUSION: Patients with rare cancer have unmet needs throughout their disease trajectory. Supportive care needs of rare cancer patients should be addressed individually, depending on the rare cancer subdomain and phase of disease and from diagnosis onwards.