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Objective This cross-sectional, observational study aimed at finding the prevalence of anxiety and depression in cancer patients and the correlation of anxiety and depression with various factors, such as age, sex, marital status, educational status, occupation, financial support, duration, type of care, sort of carcinoma, and stages of malignancy, among cancer patients attending the G. Kuppuswamy Naidu Memorial Hospital, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India from July 2022 to December 2022, using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Methods A total of 162 cancer patients referred for various cancer therapies (chemo/surgery/combination therapies) were included. All patients were administered the HADS. The association between anxiety scores and various factors such as age, site, and sex was found using the chi-square test. Results Thirty-nine (24.1%) patients had severe anxiety, 60 (37%) patients had borderline anxiety, and 63 (38.9%) patients were found to be normal. Fifty-three (32.7%) patients had severe depression, 47 (29%) patients had borderline depression, and 62 (38.3%) patients were found to be normal. The findings of this study indicate that educational status and occupational status are the significant factors (p < 0.05) responsible for increasing the risk of prevalence of anxiety and depression in cancer patients. Another interesting observation in this study was that patients with breast and gastrointestinal cancer had the highest prevalence of depression among other cancer types. Conclusions The present study contributed to the prevalence of anxiety and depression in cancer patients in Tamil Nadu, India. While the study population is small, which is a limitation of the present study, it has provided an overview that educational status and occupation contribute significantly to anxiety and depression, which has not been explored much in the past. To efficiently manage this, patients should be made aware of the financial support available from various philanthropic groups, government policies, and insurance so that they can improve their quality of life and manage their clinical condition in a more confident manner. These findings call for the need for early psychiatric interventions in cancer care to improve the quality of life of patients by focusing on improving patients' mental stability and adherence to the medications for providing positive outcomes from the cancer treatments.
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INTRODUCTION: The objective of this study was to gain an understanding of preceptors' grading scale preferences for introductory and advanced pharmacy practice experiences (IPPE/APPE). Secondarily, assess if there is a common grading scale for IPPE/APPE rotations among US pharmacy programs. METHODS: An online, 22-item survey questionnaire was sent to all preceptors at a fully accredited school of pharmacy. The survey instrument assessed preceptor attitudes toward the effectiveness of the primary grading scales, letter or pass/no pass. Demographic variables were also assessed, including gender, age, practice setting, years as a preceptor, and annual number of students precepted. In addition, a phone survey was conducted with all pharmacy programs in the United States at the time to assess grading scales used for introductory and advanced pharmacy practice experiences (IPPE/APPEs). RESULTS: Three hundred sixty-five preceptors responded to the survey questionnaire. Overall, preceptors had more favorable attitudes toward the letter grade system as opposed to the pass/no pass system, and when asked specifically which they preferred, approximately 70% preferred the letter grading system. The phone survey of different pharmacy programs grading systems revealed most use the letter grading system. Fifty-six of 87 responding schools (64%) reported use of a letter grading system, compared to 26 of 87 (30%) using a pass/no pass system and five using 'other variations' (6%). CONCLUSION: The majority of preceptors preferred the letter grading system over the pass/no pass system. Familiarity with this system was a contributing factor, as a significant number of preceptors preferred the grading scale they had as a pharmacy student - the letter grade system. This trend mimics current pharmacy school's grading system, as approximately 2/3 currently use a letter grading system to evaluate IPPE/APPEs.
