title: General practitioners' 'lived experience' of assessing psychological distress in cancer patients: an exploratory qualitative study.
abstract: While psychological distress in cancer patients is common, little is known about how general practitioners (GPs) assess distress. Using semi-structured interviews, a phenomenological study of seven GPs was conducted to explore GPs' experiences of assessing distress. Findings revealed five themes: (1) Being in the Relay Team - receiving and passing the baton: where the assessment of distress was conceptualised as a relay baton passed between a team of health care professionals, with GPs most involved at diagnosis and in the palliative phase. (2) Being in a Relationship: where the doctor-patient relationship was described as a powerful facilitator to assessment. (3) Being Skilled: where GPs perceive they are skilled at assessment adopting a patient-centred approach. (4) Being Challenged - encountering barriers: challenges with assessment were identified regarding the GPs' own emotions, patient related factors and time; the duality of family as both barrier and facilitator was voiced. (5) The Intruder in the Room: where GPs did not use validated screening tools which were viewed as an intruder in the doctor-patient relationship. Further research to objectively assess GPs' skills in distress assessment and attitudes towards the use of screening tools within the cancer care context are merited.
authors.affiliation: School of Health Sciences, University of Stirling (Western Isles Campus), Stornoway, UK.|NHS Western Isles, Stornoway, UK.
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Carolan
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, Midwifery & Social Care, Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh, UK.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Campbell
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D058006:General Practice / Q000592:standards; D058005:General Practitioners / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D010819:Physician's Role; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012423:Rural Health; D012606:Scotland; D029181:Spirituality; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000175:diagnosis*
keywords: cancer; emotional; psychological