Abstract
This study estimates the prevalence of unmet social care needs of people over 50 living in England with cancer and the effect of cancer on unmet needs. We used data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. We estimated the mean, standard deviation and 95% CI of the prevalence of unmet social care needs among people with cancer. Logistic regression analysis with individual random effects was used to estimate the effect of cancer on unmet needs controlling for other determinants. Pain measures were included stepwise in the regression to estimate their mediating effect. The prevalence rate of unmet social care needs among people living with cancer is 9% (SD=0.29; 95% CI: 8.3-10) compared to 6% (SD=0.24; 95% CI: 6.1-6.5) among people without cancer. People with cancer have significantly higher odds of having unmet needs by a factor of 1.44 (95% CI: 1.20-1.72), after controlling for the effect of other characteristics. Adding pain measures reduces the effect of cancer to a factor of 1.36 (95% CI: 1.14-1.64) in the odds of unmet needs but still remains statistically significant. A more integrated approach to cancer care is more likely to address the high level of unmet needs and consequent adverse implications.
Highlights
There are currently 2.5 million people living with cancer in the UK and a predicted 4 million people will be living with and after cancer by 2030.1 Due to advances in cancer therapies, the illness trajectory has changed and survival rates have increased.[2]
The largest effect is observed for people with arthritis or dementia who have higher odds of unmet social care needs by a factor of 4.93 and 2.84 respectively
We found that 9% of people living with and beyond cancer (LWBC) have unmet social care needs
Summary
There are currently 2.5 million people living with cancer in the UK and a predicted 4 million people will be living with and after cancer by 2030.1 Due to advances in cancer therapies, the illness trajectory has changed and survival rates have increased.[2]. Over two thirds of people with cancer have at least one or more practical, personal and emotional need,[3,4] which can be persistent over time.[5] At least one quarter of cancer survivors report long‐ term disability while both cancer patients and survivors experience levels of fatigue and pain that are higher than the general population average.[6,7]. As these difficulties develop people LWBC may receive help in a variety of ways, including help from family and friends or professional care at home. Receipt of publicly funded social care will depend on a number of factors, including whether the individual meets the required ‘eligibility criteria’ (i.e., are their needs severe enough needs to warrant social care input) and means testing to establish whether they can afford to fund this care themselves.[8]
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