The need for psychosocial support and its determinants in a sample of patients undergoing radiooncological treatment of cancer

Abstract

Objective The primary goal of this study was to examine the need for psychosocial support in a consecutive sample of cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy (RT). Out of an initial sample of 250 patients, 239 patients could be assessed at the beginning of their RT. Two hundred eight patients were reassessed at the end of RT 4–8 weeks later. Methods Measures comprised the Hornheide Screening Instrument, the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory, the Resilience Scale, and the Short Form 12 as a measure of health-related quality of life (QoL). Medical and radiological data were continuously registered. Results Within the sample, the need for psychosocial support as reflected in the screening instrument was high (>70%). Patients with the need for psychosocial support revealed significantly higher fatigue scores than patients who where not identified as needing psychosocial support. Furthermore, a negative correlation of the need for psychosocial support and QoL as well as resilience could be observed. QoL turned out to be the strongest predictor for the need of psychosocial support. Conclusion The study confirmed that the need for psychosocial support is an important aspect in the treatment of cancer patients undergoing RT, which appeared to be powerfully predicted by the patients' health-related QoL. Fatigue turned out to be an important illness- and treatment-related factor that affects QoL. Psychological interventions for cancer patients should explicitly focus on decreasing patients' fatigue and increasing their resilience, thus improving their QoL.