The Need of Cancer Patients for Rehabilitation Services

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To determine the type and prevalence of rehabilitation problems common among cancer patients and to survey the patients' recognition of and need for rehabilitation services. METHOD: The current study was conducted using a questionnaire developed by our rehabilitation team. Five hundred seven cancer patients participated in the survey. RESULTS: The percentage of patients with more than one problem from each physical, psychological, and socioeconomic categories were 87.1%, 48.2%, and 50.9% respectively. Cancer patients with needs of rehabilitation services related to physical, psychological, and socioeconomic problems comprised 77.1%, 84.6%, and 84.8%. However patients who had information about rehabilitation services related to physical, psychological, and socioeconomic problems were 22.7%, 44.7%, and 24.5%. The percentage of patients with actual rehabilitation problems needing rehabilitation services related to physical, psychological, and socioeconomic problems were 65.1%, 52.1%, and 63.6%, but only 18.2% of patients with physical problems and 5.3% of patients with psychological and socioeconomic problems received such services. The prevalence of rehabilitation problems and rehabilitation needs was very high not only in the group still receiving cancer treatment but also in the group which had completed cancer treatment. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that cancer patients have various kinds of physical, psychological, socioeconomic problems differing between cancer types and cancer treatment states with high levels of rehabilitation needs. We contend that the results of this study camay not only be able to aidin the development of appropriate cancer rehabilitation programs but also be used as a basis for policy studies.