RESUMO
BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to examine the association between the need for psychosocial support, the patients' desire for support and the actually received psychosocial interventions in cancer patients. METHODS: The need for psychosocial support was assessed with the Hornheider Screening Instrument (HSI ³ 4) in 455 cancer patients. The subjective desire for psychosocial support was assessed with a single question. In addition, the actually received psychosocial interventions were retrieved from the hospital documentation system of the psycho-oncology service. RESULTS: Overall, 41.8 % of the participants received a positive screening result indicative for the need for psychosocial support, 19.8 % reported a desire for support, and 41.5 % actually received at least one psychosocial intervention. The agreement between objective need and subjective desire for psychosocial support was low (k = 0.352). Received psychosocial interventions were significantly associated with the subjective desire but not with the objective need for support as assessed with the HSI. CONCLUSIONS: The low associations between need and desire for psychosocial support as well as between need and actually received psychosocial interventions suggest that the decision for psychosocial support should be based on the objective as well as the self-reported need for help.
