MIAMI – Oncologists endorse the idea of connecting cancer patients to psychosocial care at the conclusion of active treatment. But practice doesn’t align with beliefs, perhaps because they are unfamiliar with where to refer their patients for care.
Among 57 oncologists who responded to a survey in the southeastern United States, 35, or 61%, considered psychosocial care to be beneficial. A majority thought it was "important" following cancer treatment, reported Laurie Freeman-Gibb at the annual conference of the American Psychosocial Oncology Society (APOS).
But the oncologists said they spent just 4.2 minutes, on average, discussing psychosocial care during consultations, according to Ms. Freeman-Gibb, a lecturer in the department of nursing at the University of Windsor in Ontario, and her colleague Dr. Andrew Hatchett, Ph.D., of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s department of kinesiology.
And since only about 1 in 6 oncologists responded to the survey – it was sent to 350 practitioners – the findings may present an overly optimistic picture of what happens in real-life practice when a patient leaves active treatment and returns to the community for care.
"I think it’s sometimes a time constraint," said Ms. Freeman-Gibb. "If you only have 20 minutes to see this person and you open the floodgates to what’s really going on, you might never get out the door ... especially if you don’t know whom to tell the patient to call."
Dr. Hatchett said the impetus for the study was a series of conversations he had with survivors, in which they seemed to indicate a "disconnect" in support after their active treatment ended. "It seemed as though after treatment the survivor was left to their own devices to acquire any additional help," he said.
Many oncologists told the researchers that they would like to refer survivors for follow-up psychosocial care, but they don’t know what’s available, the investigators said.
No comprehensive registry exists that would outline the locations and qualifications of therapists, exercise and rehabilitation specialists, and support agencies that specialize in the psychosocial needs of cancer survivors. In Ireland, a national registry does just that, detailing not only the services available but also their cost, said Ms. Freeman-Gibb.
The organization that sponsored the meeting, APOS, offers a free helpline intended to connect cancer patients and survivors with community counseling services and other sources of support. However, the oncologists in the survey were unaware of that resource, the investigators noted.
Development of a "network of resources" remains a goal of the researchers, who plan to conduct an expanded online survey of a larger pool of oncologists to build on the findings of their pilot questionnaire.
Having a better sense of available resources might make oncologists more comfortable bringing up survivors’ psychosocial adjustment, added Ms. Freeman-Gibb: "Their attitude is great. They say they would love to refer patients. But they don’t."
No outside funding was used to conduct the study.