UNMET SUPPORTIVE CARE NEEDS AMONG BONE SARCOMA PATIENT IN SARAWAK

Purpose: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of unmet supportive care needs among bone sarcoma patients in Kuching, Sarawak and explored the relationship between these needs with various associated factors.  Methods: It was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted among all bone sarcoma patients recruited from Sarawak General Hospital in Kuching, Sarawak. Data collection was done using an adopted questionnaire via interview assisted survey. Unmet needs were assessed using the 59-item Supportive Care Needs Survey (SCNS-SF59). Data was entered and analyzed using SPSS version 20.    Results: A total of 75 respondents participated in the study. The patients were mainly above 36 years (56%), Sarawak natives (33.3%) and married (54.7%). Majority of patients were not undergoing any active treatment (52%). Nine out of 10 items with highest ‘moderate’ to ‘high’ level unmet needs were from the domain of Health system and information.  Needs from Physical and daily living, and sexuality domains were found to have statistically significant associations with ethnicity, age and marital status.  Conclusion: Patients who were diagnosed with bone sarcoma had substantive unmet supportive care needs in relation with their illness trajectory. It is important that such needs to be acknowledged in order to provide quality healthcare services to them.   Key words : bone sarcoma, unmet needs, Malaysia, SCNS-SF59,supportive care needs