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Group-based psychosocial services: assessing outpatient oncology needs
Background Group-based services can improve quality-of-life outcomes for oncology patients.
Objective To assess patient preferences for supportive and wellness programming to better meet patient needs and allocate resources.
Methods Patients from 3 cancer centers in New York City completed a 15-item questionnaire about their interest in educational topics (wellness, nutrition, legal issues, etc) and services (support groups, lectures, and exercise programs).
Results 311 patients participated in the survey. Mean age was 59 years, and 74% were women. The most common cancer was breast (40%), followed by genitourinary (15%). Women preferred wellness workshops most, followed by informative sessions; men most preferred informative sessions, followed equally by posttreatment support and wellness workshops. Older age was related to an increased likelihood of group attendance. Overall, 68% of participants reported that they would be likely to attend groups. For lectures, nutrition was of greatest interest for men (43%) and women (34%), followed by anxiety management (17% and 18%, respectively). Overall, 64% of participants reported that they would be likely to attend a lecture. A majority of respondents (54%) expressed a desire for exercise programs.
Limitations Generalizability to all cancer centers is limited, because data was not tracked on those who refused to complete the questionnaire.
Conclusions Obtaining patient feedback on psychosocial programs is imperative for understanding patient preferences and developing effective support programming.
Click on the PDF icon at the top of this introduction to read the full article.
Background Group-based services can improve quality-of-life outcomes for oncology patients.
Objective To assess patient preferences for supportive and wellness programming to better meet patient needs and allocate resources.
Methods Patients from 3 cancer centers in New York City completed a 15-item questionnaire about their interest in educational topics (wellness, nutrition, legal issues, etc) and services (support groups, lectures, and exercise programs).
Results 311 patients participated in the survey. Mean age was 59 years, and 74% were women. The most common cancer was breast (40%), followed by genitourinary (15%). Women preferred wellness workshops most, followed by informative sessions; men most preferred informative sessions, followed equally by posttreatment support and wellness workshops. Older age was related to an increased likelihood of group attendance. Overall, 68% of participants reported that they would be likely to attend groups. For lectures, nutrition was of greatest interest for men (43%) and women (34%), followed by anxiety management (17% and 18%, respectively). Overall, 64% of participants reported that they would be likely to attend a lecture. A majority of respondents (54%) expressed a desire for exercise programs.
Limitations Generalizability to all cancer centers is limited, because data was not tracked on those who refused to complete the questionnaire.
Conclusions Obtaining patient feedback on psychosocial programs is imperative for understanding patient preferences and developing effective support programming.
Click on the PDF icon at the top of this introduction to read the full article.
Background Group-based services can improve quality-of-life outcomes for oncology patients.
Objective To assess patient preferences for supportive and wellness programming to better meet patient needs and allocate resources.
Methods Patients from 3 cancer centers in New York City completed a 15-item questionnaire about their interest in educational topics (wellness, nutrition, legal issues, etc) and services (support groups, lectures, and exercise programs).
Results 311 patients participated in the survey. Mean age was 59 years, and 74% were women. The most common cancer was breast (40%), followed by genitourinary (15%). Women preferred wellness workshops most, followed by informative sessions; men most preferred informative sessions, followed equally by posttreatment support and wellness workshops. Older age was related to an increased likelihood of group attendance. Overall, 68% of participants reported that they would be likely to attend groups. For lectures, nutrition was of greatest interest for men (43%) and women (34%), followed by anxiety management (17% and 18%, respectively). Overall, 64% of participants reported that they would be likely to attend a lecture. A majority of respondents (54%) expressed a desire for exercise programs.
Limitations Generalizability to all cancer centers is limited, because data was not tracked on those who refused to complete the questionnaire.
Conclusions Obtaining patient feedback on psychosocial programs is imperative for understanding patient preferences and developing effective support programming.
Click on the PDF icon at the top of this introduction to read the full article.