Awareness and use of psychosocial care among cancer patients and their relatives-a comparison of people with and without a migration background in Germany

Feasibility of a complex psychosocial intervention for families with parental cancer: acceptability, suitability, implementability, and perceived support

PURPOSE

This study aimed to assess the feasibility of a comprehensive psychosocial intervention for families coping with parental cancer.

METHODS

A quasi-experimental trial with intervention and control group, employing a mixed-methods approach, was conducted. A total of 472 families affected by parental cancer participated. The feasibility of the intervention was evaluated based on study monitoring measures (on-site visits, team supervision meeting observations, case conference observations, best practice workshops, coordinating information exchange between intervention sites, and reviewing intervention documentation), process evaluation (semi-structured interviews, focus group discussion) and survey data. Data analysis involved thematic coding and descriptive statistics.

RESULTS

The intervention was well-received by the participating families, with a high degree of acceptance observed. The feasibility of the intervention was found to be associated with specific dynamics within each family system and the motivation of the family members. The success of the intervention was described as dependent on the family-centered arrangement of the encounters, including factors such as frequency, duration, and mode, which greatly influenced its overall acceptability.

CONCLUSION

The family-scout intervention demonstrates its feasibility as an effective intervention to reduce the burden experienced by families coping with parental cancer. Psychosocial oncology services should continue to develop and implement family-centered interventions to offer support to families during their cancer journey.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04186923. Retrospectively registered on 4 December 2019.

Psycho-Oncological Self-Help Groups in Bavaria: The Current Situation and Suggestions for Improvement

BACKGROUND

Self-help groups (SHGs) are an important cornerstone of the German health care system. Especially collaborations of SHGs with cancer centers enable active patient involvement in cancer care. We investigated the current situation and unmet needs of Bavarian SHGs in order to point out possible options of action.

METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional study with Bavarian psycho-oncological SHGs. Via e-mail, an online survey was sent to 150 SHGs registered at the BZKF (Bavarian Cancer Research Center). We assessed activities and needs of the SHGs as well as the nature of collaborations with cancer centers. We focused on adaptations during the COVID-19 pandemic and the inclusion of migrants.

RESULTS

46 (33.66%) SHGs participated, while 39 (84.78%) completed the questionnaire. During the COVID-19 pandemic, 50% of the SHGs reported less meetings. 22.7% changed to online meetings or other formats (43.2%). 20.9% of the SHGs had regular meetings with the cancer center, and 23.1% with the psycho-oncology. 51.2% evaluated the psycho-oncological services as neutral to dissatisfying due to lack of information, availability, and long waiting times. The SHGs indicated needs concerning interventions (coping strategies, digital applications, etc.), information, and better communication. Efforts for overcoming inequalities seemed rare: only 13.6% of the SHGs and 16.2% of the cancer centers had services for migrants.

CONCLUSIONS

This study gave an overview of current activities and needs of Bavarian SHGs. The implementation of patient guides, comprehensive information material, and low-threshold psycho-oncological services should be objectives in future care to increase patient satisfaction. The needs for services for migrants should be investigated in more detail.

Experience of office-based haematologists and oncologists with outpatient psycho-social support services for cancer patients with and without migration background in Germany

PURPOSE

We compared the perception of office-based haematologists and oncologists regarding the availability of outpatient psycho-social support services (PSSS) for patients with cancer and a migration background, as well as their different experiences with these services.

METHODS

Data were collected via an online survey addressing the doctors' socio-demographic characteristics and their perception of-and experience with PSSS. The association between socio-demographic characteristics of the doctors and their experiences with PSSS was tested using Pearson's chi-squared test and Kruskal-Wallis test.

RESULTS

A total of 55 doctors were included in this study. More than three doctors in four reported non-sufficient presence of PSSS in foreign languages in their region; one in two reported that the services for patients with migration background should be improved. Most doctors reported missing PSSS in Turkish and Arabic in their region. Doctors with less experience referred patients more often to PSSS hosted in patients' associations (75% vs 25%; p = 0.02), than doctors with more experience. Doctors working in larger cities referred patients less often to PSSS in cancer counselling centres (12% vs 88%; p = 0.01), than doctors working in small or middle-large cities. Male doctors were more satisfied with the network of PSSS' providers, than female doctors (mean score = 2.8 vs 2.2; p = 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that efforts should be made for a higher regional availability of overall and specific PSSS for non-German speaking patients (especially for Turkish- and Arabic-speaking patients). The experience with PSSS was associated with the doctors' work experience and gender, as well as the location of the practice.