Emotional distress and problems associated with adult oncological population

Abstract

Objective: this study estimates the prevalence of emotional distress, identifies the associated problems, and analyses the knowledge and use that patients make of the psychosocial resources available in the Hospital. Method: a cross-sectional study is carried out involving 203 cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. The Brief Inventory of Symptoms -18 (BSI 18), the NCCN Problem List, and a shorterversion of the Psychosocial Questionnaire are used. Results: the prevalence of distress in the total samplewas 26%. The physical problems are the main source of distress: fatigue, pain, skin dry/itchy, and sleeprelated problems, are the most prevalent. The BSI-18 and the List of Problems show statistically significantcorrelations (r = .74, Range: r = .69 and r = .18). Only 21% of the distress clinical cases use the availablepsychosocial services. The remaining 79% indicate that they do not use them because they not need anyhelp or not know about their existence. Conclusions: although the majority of the participants have agood adjustment to the disease, a significant percentage presents clinical levels of emotional distress. It iscrucial to carry out routine screening of the distress response for early management/control, and to informthe population about the availability of psychosocial resources, making them aware of the importance oftheir use in vulnerability moments.