title: Psychosocial Care Needs of Melanoma Survivors: Are They Being Met?
abstract: Patients who have survived malignant melanoma for more than five years may lack the opportunity to talk about their burden. As a consequence their psychosocial care needs remain undetected and available supportive interventions may not be utilised. Therefore, the psychosocial burden of this patient group needs to be assessed using specific screening instruments. The aim of this study was to investigate the psychosocial burden of long-term melanoma survivors, their psychosocial care needs and the determinants of these needs. We wanted to find out if the use of professional support corresponds to the care needs defined by experts. Using the cancer registry of Rhineland-Palatinate, melanoma patients diagnosed at least 5 years before the survey were contacted by physicians. N = 689 former patients completed the Hornheide Questionnaire (short form HQ-S) to identify psychosocial support need (scale cut off ≥ 16 or item-based cut-off score) and the potential psychosocial determinants of these needs. Additionally, they were asked about their utilisation of the professional support system. More than one third (36%) of them was in need for professional psychosocial support. The highest burden scores concerned worry about tumour progression. Younger age (< 50), higher general fatigue, higher symptom burden, lower general health, negative social interactions and unfulfilled information needs were significant predictors of the need for psychosocial intervention. Related to the percentage of survivors identified as 'in need', the professional support system was underused. Further studies should investigate whether using the HQ-S to routinely identify burdened melanoma patients could lead to better fulfilment of their intervention needs, ultimately enhancing health-related quality of life.
authors: Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
authors: Sabine
authors: S
authors: Fischbeck
authors: Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
authors: Barbara H
authors: BH
authors: Imruck
authors: Institute for Medical Biometrics, Epidemiology and Informatics (IMBEI), University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
authors: Maria
authors: M
authors: Blettner
authors: Institute for Medical Biometrics, Epidemiology and Informatics (IMBEI), University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
authors: Veronika
authors: V
authors: Weyer
authors: Institute for Medical Biometrics, Epidemiology and Informatics (IMBEI), University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
authors: Harald
authors: H
authors: Binder
authors: Institute for Medical Biometrics, Epidemiology and Informatics (IMBEI), Cancer Registry, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
authors: Sylke R
authors: SR
authors: Zeissig
authors: Institute for Medical Biometrics, Epidemiology and Informatics (IMBEI), Cancer Registry, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
authors: Katharina
authors: K
authors: Emrich
authors: Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
authors: Peter
authors: P
authors: Friedrich-Mai
authors: Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
authors: Manfred E
authors: ME
authors: Beutel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006300:Health Services Misuse / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012878:Skin Neoplasms; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology*; D000096142:Cutaneous Malignant Melanoma