Subject(s)
Palliative Care/methods , Spiritual Therapies/methods , Spirituality , Terminal Care/methods , HumansABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The objective is to describe cancer patients' patterns of use of psychosocial support services and identify socio-demographic, psychosocial, and attitudinal predictors of service utilization. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of 439 cancer patients (61.2% response) at a regional tertiary cancer center assessed patterns of support service utilization, cancer-specific distress, social support and constraints, and attitudes to help seeking. RESULTS: Patients less frequently received advice about psychosocial support in comparison with treatment-related information. More than half the respondents were aware of social work support, support groups, and chaplain support; however, most did not utilize these services. For unaware patients, up to 47% would have utilized support services if they had known of their existence. The use of services was significantly related to being female, younger, and having greater cancer-specific distress, more positive and less negative attitudes to help seeking. Future intention to contact a health professional for psychological support was predicted by more positive subjective norms and outcome expectations, higher cancer-specific distress, and less negative attitudes to help seeking. CONCLUSION: Initiatives that encourage distressed patients to use psychosocial care services should highlight positive outcomes. Educational programs for health professionals to support psychosocial care in oncology are needed.
Subject(s)
Attitude to Health , Neoplasms/psychology , Patient Acceptance of Health Care , Cross-Sectional Studies , Demography , Depression/etiology , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Prospective Studies , Psychology , Social Support , Social WorkABSTRACT
The growing demand for palliative care means that health professionals are expected to provide palliative care as a core part of their practice. Training in the practice of palliative care is a recent addition to undergraduate and postgraduate medical and other healthcare curricula, and several initiatives are under way to promote palliative care principles and practice in healthcare training. The challenge that we all face is how to develop these skills in the face of multiple demands on our time. Strategies for improving palliative care education include a national undergraduate curriculum for palliative care, expanded training opportunities for generalist practitioners, and further recognition for the role of practitioners of specialist palliative care and associated curriculum development.
