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- Title
Screening for psychological distress in adult primary brain tumor patients and caregivers: considerations for cancer care coordination.
- Authors
Trad, Wafa; Koh, Eng-Siew; Daher, Maysaa; Bailey, Alanah; Kastelan, Marina; Legge, Dianne; Fleet, Marcia; Simpson, Grahame K.; Hovey, Elizabeth; Eisenstat, David D.; Knott, Vikki Elizabeth; Wootten, Addie Cameron
- Abstract
Introduction: This study aimed to assess psychological distress (PD) as scored by the Distress Thermometer (DT) in adult primary brain tumor patients and caregivers (CGs) in a clinic setting and ascertain if any high-risk subgroups for PD exist. Material and methods: From May 2012 to August 2013, n = 96 patients and n = 32 CG underwent DT screening at diagnosis, and a differing cohort of n = 12 patients and n = 14 CGs at first recurrence. Groups were described by diagnosis (high grade, low grade, and benign) and English versus non English speaking. Those with DT score =4 met caseness criteria for referral to psycho-oncology services. One-way ANOVA tests were conducted to test for between-group differences where appropriate. Results: At diagnosis and first recurrence, 37.5 and 75.0% (respectively) of patients had DT scores above the cutoff for distress. At diagnosis, 78.1% of CGs met caseness criteria for distress. All CGs at recurrence met distress criterion. Patients with high-grade glioma had significantly higher scores than those with a benign tumor. For patients at diagnosis, non English speaking participants did not report significantly higher DT scores than English speaking participants. Discussion: Psychological distress is particularly elevated in CGs and in patients with high-grade glioma at diagnosis. Effective PD screening, triage, and referral by skilled care coordinators are vital to enable timely needs assessment, psychological support, and effective intervention.
- Subjects
PSYCHOLOGICAL distress; BRAIN tumors; CAREGIVERS
- Publication
Frontiers in Oncology, 2015, p1
- ISSN
2234-943X
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.3389/fonc.2015.00203