Background: Cancer caregiving is burdensome with unique needs, highlighting the importance of assessing caregivers' distress. Caregivers often accompany patients to healthcare visits, presenting an opportunity to complete distress screening at patients' point-of-care.
Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of caregiver distress screening at patients' point-of-care and implementing a caregiver psychoeducational session.
Methods: We approached caregivers in outpatient cancer clinic waiting rooms. Participants completed depression, burden, anxiety, quality of life, and stress measures. A psychoeducational session with a psychologist was offered to those meeting clinical cutoffs for depression and/or burden. Fifty caregivers completed 1+ measure; however, due to incomplete consent documentation, findings from 23 caregivers are reported.
Results: 22% of caregivers screened positive for depression, 30% burden, and 70% anxiety. More than half rated stress as moderate or higher. Mental wellbeing was slightly below that of the general population. More than 75% screened positive on 1+ distress measure. Of the 9 caregivers who met cutoffs for depression and/or burden, two (22%) accepted the psychoeducational session.
Conclusion: Caregivers were moderately receptive to distress screening during patients' visits, but were less receptive to engaging in the psychoeducational session due to time constraints and privacy concerns.
Implications for practice: Assessing caregivers' distress can facilitate referrals for supportive services. Offering caregivers psychoeducational intervention outside of patient care may not be acceptable. Future research may evaluate the integration of routine caregiver screening within patient care to promote engagement with mental health services.
Foundational: This research offers a unique method of assessing cancer caregivers' distress.
Background: While adverse events and toxicities related to cancer drug therapy in the ambulatory oncology setting are common and often rooted in communication challenges, few studies have examined the problems of communication or tested tools to improve communication in this unique, high-risk setting.
Objective: To determine the feasibility and acceptability of a virtual interdisciplinary communication Workshop designed to strengthen communication across ambulatory oncology teams members.
Methods: Surveys of patients and clinicians in one ambulatory oncology clinic were analyzed and informed the communication intervention: an interdisciplinary virtual Workshop. Workshop evaluation included an implementation survey measure and a structured debrief with Workshop attendees.
Results: 87 patients and 56 clinicians participated in pre-workshop surveys that revealed patient satisfaction with timely care and information, yet a range of rating communication experiences with the clinical team, and clinicians perceiving a high amount of organizational safety, yet rated discussion of alternatives to normal work processes low. Survey results guided reflection and discussion within the Workshop. Six clinicians participated in the interactive Workshop. Feasibility and acceptability of the virtual Workshop were supported by formative and summative data, along with suggestions for improvement.
Conclusions: The patient and clinician surveys coupled with an interactive virtual Workshop were feasible and acceptable.
Implications for practice: The Workshop identified opportunities for individual- and system-level improvements in clinical team communication. This promising strategy requires replication in larger, diverse practice samples.
Foundational: Clinicians accepted an interactive workshop that incorporated clinic-specific data and communication strategies. The program is feasible and acceptable in ambulatory oncology settings.
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