title: Associations between neighbourhood support and financial burden with unmet needs of head and neck cancer survivors.
abstract: To assess the unmet needs of head and neck cancer survivors and investigate associated factors. In particular, to explore whether social support (family/friends and neighbours) and financial burden are associated with unmet needs of head and neck cancer (HNC) survivors.
  
  
  
  This was a cross-sectional study of HNC survivors, with 583 respondents included in the analysis. Information was collected on unmet supportive care needs as measured by the Supportive Care Needs Survey (SCNS-SF34). Poisson regression with robust standard errors was used to examine factors associated with having one or more needs in each of the five domains (physical; psychological; sexuality; patient care and support; and health system and information).
  
  
  
  The mean age of respondents was 62.9years (standard deviation 11.3years) and one third of respondents were female. The top ten unmet needs was composed exclusively of items from the physical and psychological domains. Financial strain due to cancer and finding it difficult to obtain practical help from a neighbour were both associated with unmet needs in each of the five domains, in the adjusted analyses.
  
  
  
  Whilst in each domain, a minority of respondents have unmet needs, approximately half of respondents reported at least one unmet need, with the commonest unmet needs in the psychological domain. Providing services to people with these needs should be a priority for healthcare providers. We suggest that studies, which identify risk factors for unmet needs, could be used to develop screening tools or aid in the targeting of support.
authors.affiliation: The National Cancer Registry, Building 6800, Cork Airport Business Park, Kinsale Road, Cork, Ireland. Electronic address: k.obrien@ncri.ie.
authors.forename: Katie M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: O'Brien
authors.affiliation: The National Cancer Registry, Building 6800, Cork Airport Business Park, Kinsale Road, Cork, Ireland.
authors.forename: Aileen
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Timmons
authors.affiliation: Centre of Medical Psychology, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Phyllis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Butow
authors.affiliation: Musculoskeletal Research Unit, University of Bristol, Southmead Hospital, Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol, UK.
authors.forename: Rachael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gooberman-Hill
authors.affiliation: School of Dentistry, University College Cork, Ireland.
authors.forename: Eleanor
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: O'Sullivan
authors.affiliation: The National Cancer Registry, Building 6800, Cork Airport Business Park, Kinsale Road, Cork, Ireland.
authors.forename: Myles
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Balfe
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health & Society, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sharp
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000191:economics / Q000523:psychology*; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012944:Social Support; D017741:Survivors
keywords: Financial burden; Head and neck cancer; Social support; Unmet needs