Betreuungsbedarf und Betreuungswunsch von Patienten mit Prostatakarzinom – eine Längsschnitterhebung

Subtitle: The need for psychosocial support and the desire for counselling in prostate cancer patients – a longitudinal study

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Zenger, Markus | Ernst, Jochen | Götze, Heide | Stolzenburg, Jens-Uwe | Hinz, Andreas

Affiliations: Selbständige Abteilung für Medizinische Psychologie und Medizinische Soziologie, Universität Leipzig, Philipp-Rosenthal-Straße 55, D-04103 Leipzig | Klinik und Poliklinik für Urologie, Universität Leipzig, Liebigstraße 20, D-04103 Leipzig

Note: [] Korrespondenzadresse: M. Zenger, Selbständige Abteilung für Medizinische Psychologie und Medizinische Soziologie, Universität Leipzig, Philipp-Rosenthal-Straße 55, D-04103 Leipzig. Tel.: +49 341 9718808; Fax: +49 341 9718809; E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract: Objectives: Additionally to the central aspects of medical care, the psychosocial dimension of coping becomes more important and comes into the focus of attention. The objective of this study was to examine the objective need as well as the subjective request for psychosocial support and to investigate the relationship between the need for psychosocial counselling and psychological distress, quality of life and optimism. Methods: Finally, 274 prostate cancer patients answered the Hornheide Screening Instrument (HSI), HADS, EORTC QLQ-C 30, and LOT during their stay in the hospital (T1), two weeks (T2) and three months after discharge (T3). Results: The need for psychosocial support ranged between 45% during the time in the hospital and 30% three months later. Distress, quality of life and optimism were substantially correlated with the extent of this need. Furthermore, the self-assessed depression at T1 was the strongest predictor for the objective need of psychosocial support three months later. At T1 the subjective request for supportive counselling was mainly addressed to physicians (77%), followed by the own social network (66%). The request for professional psychosocial support was addressed in 13% of the patients to a social worker and in 9% to a psychologist. Moreover, the accordance between the objective need and the subjective request for psychosocial support was low. Conclusion: The obvious discrepancy between the objective need and the subjective request for psychosocial support shows that patients in need for counselling often do not articulate the wish for professional psychosocial support. Otherwise, there are patients that are distressed but already experience adequate support from their social network. Therefore, the two approaches – the screening for objective need as well as questioning for subjective request for psychosocial support – should both be realised to examine the need for psychosocial support.

Keywords: Psychosocial support, counselling, prostate cancer, distress, quality of life

Journal: Zeitschrift für Medizinische Psychologie, vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 51-59, 2010