title: Needs assessment of cancer survivors in Connecticut.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There are knowledge gaps regarding the needs of cancer survivors in Connecticut and their utilization of supportive services.
  
  
  METHODS
  A convenience sample of cancer survivors residing in Connecticut were invited to complete a self-administered (print or online) needs assessment (English or Spanish). Participants identified commonly occurring problems and completed a modified version of the Supportive Care Needs Survey Short Form (SNCS-SF34) assessing needs across five domains (psychosocial, health systems/information, physical/daily living, patient care /support, and sexuality).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The majority of the 1,516 cancer survivors (76.4%) were women, 47.5% had completed high school or some college, 66.1% were diagnosed ≤5 years ago, and 87.7% were non-Hispanic white. The breast was the most common site (47.6%), followed by the prostate, colorectal, lung, and melanoma. With multivariate adjustment, need on the SCNS-SF34 was greatest among women, younger survivors, those diagnosed within the past year, those not free of cancer, and Hispanics/Latinos. We also observed some differences by insurance and education status. In addition, we assessed the prevalence of individual problems, with the most common being weight gain/loss, memory changes, paying for care, communication, and not being told about services.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Overall and domain specific needs in this population of cancer survivors were relatively low, although participants reported a wide range of problems. Greater need was identified among cancer survivors who were female, younger, Hispanic/Latino, and recently diagnosed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings can be utilized to target interventions and promote access to available resources for Connecticut cancer survivors.
authors: Yale University School of Nursing, New Haven, CT 06536, USA. tish.knobf@yale.edu
authors: M Tish
authors: MT
authors: Knobf
authors: Leah M
authors: LM
authors: Ferrucci
authors: Brenda
authors: B
authors: Cartmel
authors: Beth A
authors: BA
authors: Jones
authors: Denise
authors: D
authors: Stevens
authors: Maureen
authors: M
authors: Smith
authors: Andrew
authors: A
authors: Salner
authors: Linda
authors: L
authors: Mowad
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003237:Connecticut; D003625:Data Collection; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006295:Health Resources; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020380:Needs Assessment; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D057566:Self Report; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012944:Social Support; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult