TY - JOUR
T1 - Unmet care needs of patients with advanced cancer and their relatives
T2 - multicentre observational study
AU - Driessen, Helen P.A.
AU - Busschbach, Jan J.V.
AU - Van Der Rijt, Carin C.D.
AU - Elfrink, Erna J.
AU - Raijmakers, Natasja J.H.
AU - Van Roij, Janneke
AU - Rietjens, Judith
AU - Kranenburg, Leonieke W.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Objectives: The care needs of patients with advanced cancer and their relatives change throughout the disease trajectory. This study focused on the care-related problems and needs of patients with advanced cancer and their relatives. This was done from the perspective of centres for information and support. Methods: This cross-sectional study used data from the eQuiPe study: an observational cohort study in which 40 Dutch hospitals participated. All adult patients with a diagnosis of a metastasised tumour and their relatives were eligible. Measures included information on the patients' and relatives' care problems and needs, assessed by the short version of the Problems and Needs in Palliative Care questionnaire. Socioeconomic demographics were also collected. Results: 1103 patients with advanced cancer and 831 relatives were included. Both patients (M=60.3, SD=29.0) and relatives (M=59.2, SD=26.6) experienced most problems in the domain of â € psychological issues'. Both patients (M=14.0, SD=24.2) and relatives (M=17.7, SD=25.7) most frequently reported unmet needs within this domain. The most often reported unmet need by patients was â € worrying about the future of my loved ones' (22.0%); for relatives this was â € fear for physical suffering of the patient' (32.8%). There was no clear relationship between socioeconomic demographics and the experienced unmet needs. Conclusions: The most often mentioned unmet needs consisted of fears and worries, followed by a broad range of topics within multiple domains. Centres for information and support may play a role in reducing the unmet needs of (potential) visitors as these centres provide support on a broad range of topics.
AB - Objectives: The care needs of patients with advanced cancer and their relatives change throughout the disease trajectory. This study focused on the care-related problems and needs of patients with advanced cancer and their relatives. This was done from the perspective of centres for information and support. Methods: This cross-sectional study used data from the eQuiPe study: an observational cohort study in which 40 Dutch hospitals participated. All adult patients with a diagnosis of a metastasised tumour and their relatives were eligible. Measures included information on the patients' and relatives' care problems and needs, assessed by the short version of the Problems and Needs in Palliative Care questionnaire. Socioeconomic demographics were also collected. Results: 1103 patients with advanced cancer and 831 relatives were included. Both patients (M=60.3, SD=29.0) and relatives (M=59.2, SD=26.6) experienced most problems in the domain of â € psychological issues'. Both patients (M=14.0, SD=24.2) and relatives (M=17.7, SD=25.7) most frequently reported unmet needs within this domain. The most often reported unmet need by patients was â € worrying about the future of my loved ones' (22.0%); for relatives this was â € fear for physical suffering of the patient' (32.8%). There was no clear relationship between socioeconomic demographics and the experienced unmet needs. Conclusions: The most often mentioned unmet needs consisted of fears and worries, followed by a broad range of topics within multiple domains. Centres for information and support may play a role in reducing the unmet needs of (potential) visitors as these centres provide support on a broad range of topics.
KW - Cancer
KW - Complementary therapy
KW - Quality of life
KW - Supportive care
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85166405559&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1136/spcare-2023-004242
DO - 10.1136/spcare-2023-004242
M3 - Article
C2 - 37491145
AN - SCOPUS:85166405559
SN - 2045-435X
JO - BMJ Supportive and Palliative Care
JF - BMJ Supportive and Palliative Care
M1 - spcare-2023-004242
ER -