Supportive Care and Unmet Needs in Upper Gastrointestinal Cancer Patients: Screening and Related Factors

Ya-Ting Tseng, Chia-Hsun Hsieh, Chien-Wei Hung, Chia-Chia Chen, Shu-Hui Lee, Li-Yun Lee and Shu-Ching Chen
Additional contact information
Ya-Ting Tseng: Department of Nursing, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan
Chia-Hsun Hsieh: Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan
Chien-Wei Hung: Department of Nursing, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan
Chia-Chia Chen: Department of Nursing, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan
Shu-Hui Lee: Department of Nursing, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan
Li-Yun Lee: Department of Nursing, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Da-Yeh University, Changhua 515, Taiwan
Shu-Ching Chen: School of Nursing and Geriatric and Long-Term Care Research Center, College of Nursing, Chang Gung University of Science and Technology, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 15, 1-12

Abstract: Upper gastrointestinal (UGI) cancer treatment can cause physical and psychological distress and may result in unmet needs. The purposes of this study were to (1) examine the levels of gastrointestinal (GI) symptom distress, social support, and supportive care needs; (2) screen the priorities of unmet supportive care needs; and (3) identify the factors associated with supportive care needs among UGI cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. This cross-sectional study examined UGI cancer patients who received treatment from the outpatient chemotherapy department of a single cancer center in northern Taiwan. Questionnaires were used to collect data regarding GI symptom distress, social support, unmet needs, and supportive care needs. The top three unmet needs were “fears about the cancer spreading”, “uncertainty about the future”, and “being informed about things you can do to help yourself to get well”. Descriptive statistics examined the levels of GI symptom distress, social support, supportive care needs, and priorities of unmet supportive care needs. Stepwise regression was conducted to determine significant factors related to supportive care needs. Greater supportive care needs were found to be associated with higher levels of disease-related worries, increased treatment-related symptoms, and a lower level of physical performance. These factors explained 48.0% of the variance in supportive care needs. Disease-related worries and treatment-related symptoms strongly influence overall supportive care needs and each domain of supportive care needs. Symptom management and psychological support for patients receiving outpatient chemotherapy may help patients meet needs.

Keywords: upper gastrointestinal cancer; screening; supportive care needs; unmet needs; social support (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/15/8124/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/15/8124/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:15:p:8124-:d:606033

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().