Cancer Patients' and their Physicians' Perceptions of the Formers' need for Occupational Therapy

Abstract

The aims of the study were to identify cancer patients' need for occupational therapy by (a) describing their and their physicians' perceptions of the former's needs (b) exploring whether patients and physicians agree on the patient's need for occupational therapy, and (c) identifying the factors related to the physicians' and the patients' perceptions of patient needs. One-hundred-and-two patients with a cancer disease and the 11 physicians responsible for them completed the ?Occupational Therapy Needs Assessment? during a visit to a medical consultation unit. Fifty-six percent of the patients felt a need for occupational therapy. In 59% of cases, their physicians judged that there was a need for occupational therapy. Patients and physicians both judged that those patients who were older than 66 years and in the active phase of the disease needed therapy more than those patients under 66 years and not in an active phase of the disease. More patients judged by their physicians to have more than 6 months to live needed occupational therapy more than those judged to have less than 6 months. In conclusion, it seems that occupational therapy is felt by cancer patients and their physicians to be underutilised.