Patient's perceived need and psychological distress and/or quality of life in ambulatory breast cancer patients in Japan.
OBJECTIVE
A needs assessment can be used as a direct index of what patients perceive they need help with. The purposes of this study were to investigate the association between patients' perceived needs and psychological distress and/or quality of life (QOL) and to clarify the characteristics of patients with a high degree of unmet needs.


METHODS
Randomly selected ambulatory female patients with breast cancer participated in this study. The patients were asked to complete the Short-form Supportive Care Needs Survey questionnaire, which covers five domains of need (health system and information, psychological, physical, care and support, and sexuality needs); the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQ-C 30.


RESULTS
Complete data were available for 408 patients. The patients' needs were significantly associated with both psychological distress (r=0.63, p<0.001) and QOL (r=-0.52, p<0.001). A multiple regression analysis revealed that employment status (without full-time /part-time job), duration since diagnosis (less than 6 months), advanced stage, and a lower performance status were significantly associated with higher total needs. Only sexuality needs were significantly associated with a younger age, while the other domains were significantly associated with duration since diagnosis, advanced stage, and a lower performance status.


CONCLUSIONS
Moderate to strong associations exist between patients' needs and psychological distress and/or QOL. The characteristics associated with patients' needs are multi-factorial, and interventions to respond to patients' needs may be one possible strategy for ameliorating psychological distress and enhancing QOL.
Akechi
Tatsuo
T
Department of Psychiatry and Cognitive-Behavioral Medicine, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Mizuho-cho, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan. takechi@med.nagoya-cu.ac.jp
Okuyama
Toru
T
Endo
Chiharu
C
Sagawa
Ryuichi
R
Uchida
Megumi
M
Nakaguchi
Tomohiro
T
Akazawa
Terukazu
T
Yamashita
Hiroko
H
Toyama
Tatsuya
T
Furukawa
Toshiaki A
TA
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001007:Anxiety / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008875:Middle Aged; D020380:Needs Assessment; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires