title: Psychosocial service use: a qualitative exploration from the perspective of rural Australian cancer patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study aims to identify key issues associated with the provision of psychosocial care from the perspective of rural Australian cancer patients and determine culturally appropriate methods that may reduce barriers to service use.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventeen purposively sampled adult South Australians who lived outside metropolitan Adelaide, had a diagnosis of cancer and various demographic and medical histories participated in semi-structured, face-to-face interviews. Participants also completed a demographic questionnaire. Qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Five key themes were identified: (1) psychosocial support is highly valued by those who have accessed it, (2) having access to both lay and professional psychosocial support is vitally important, (3) accessing psychosocial services is made difficult by several barriers (lack of information about services, initial beliefs they are unnecessary, feeling overwhelmed and concerns about stigma and dual relationships), (4) medical staff located in metropolitan treatment centres are not sufficiently aware of the unique needs of rural patients and (5) patients require better access to psychosocial services post-treatment. Methods through which rural patients believe access to psychosocial services could be improved include: (1) providing more rural-specific information on psychosocial care, (2) improving communication between health care providers and referral to psychosocial services and (3) making psychosocial services a standard part of care.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Rural cancer patients want their unique needs to be recognised and to be treated differently to their urban counterparts. There is a need for more targeted and rurally relevant information for rural cancer patients, both to inform them of, and change their attitudes towards, psychosocial services. Other practical recommendations are also discussed.
authors: School of Psychology, The University of Adelaide, North Terrace Campus, Level 4, Hughes Building, Adelaide, South Australia, 5005 Australia. kate.gunn@adelaide.edu.au
authors: Kate
authors: K
authors: Gunn
authors: Deborah
authors: D
authors: Turnbull
authors: J Lindsay
authors: JL
authors: McWha
authors: Matthew
authors: M
authors: Davies
authors: Ian
authors: I
authors: Olver
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001315:Australia; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008605:Mental Health Services; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D010045:Outpatients / Q000523:psychology; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000523:psychology; D036301:Qualitative Research; D019035:Rural Health Services; D012424:Rural Population; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
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