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Psychological distress in cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy treatment

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Abstract

Purpose

The objective of this study was to examine the likely presence of, and factors associated with, anxiety, depression and overall psychological distress in cancer outpatients undergoing radiation therapy treatment in Sydney, Australia.

Methods

A touchscreen computer survey was conducted in four radiation therapy treatment centre waiting rooms. Patients waiting to receive treatment completed the survey which included questions about demographic and disease characteristics, survey acceptability and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS).

Results

A total of 454 patients (70 %) completed the touchscreen computer survey. The likely presence of anxiety (HADS-A ≥11), depression (HADS-D ≥11) and overall psychological distress (HADS-T ≥15) was 15, 5.7 and 22 %, respectively. Cancer type was found to be associated with each HADS screening category. The majority of patients reported high survey acceptability and willingness to complete similar touchscreen computer surveys in the treatment centre waiting room on additional occasions.

Conclusions

As radiotherapy patients frequently attend the radiation oncology department, routine screening and intervention for elevated levels of psychological distress in this setting appears to be feasible. High survey completion rates and high patient-rated acceptability support this approach to screening. The likely presence of psychological distress is reported for this sample; however, the selection of HADS threshold scores is likely to have influenced the reported rates. Further research is needed to identify how cancer type impacts on likely caseness across the different HADS classifications examined.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Mr. Sundresan Naicker, Ms. Kelauren Barry, Mrs. Jay House, and Mr. Ryan Courtney for their assistance with data collection, and Mr. Michael Fitzgerald for his assistance with statistical analysis. We would also like to thank the staff and patients at the participating radiation oncology treatment centres. Lisa Mackenzie's Ph.D. candidature is supported by The University of Newcastle School of Medicine and Public Health Professor Jill Cockburn Scholarship in Health Behaviour. Dr. Mariko Carey is supported by a Hunter Medical Research Institute Post-Doctoral Fellowship. This research was supported by a Strategic Research Partnership Grant from NSW Cancer Council to the Newcastle Cancer Control Collaborative. The touchscreen computer resources and patient recruitment costs were covered by a 2009 University of Newcastle Priority Research Centre for Health Behaviour research grant.

Conflict of interest

No authors have reported financial relationships with research-sponsoring organisations. Ms Lisa Mackenzie, the corresponding author, had and has full control of the primary data. The authors agree to allow Supportive Care in Cancer to review the data, if requested.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Priority Research Centre for Health Behaviour, School of Medicine and Public Health, Faculty of Health, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, 2308, Australia

    L. J. Mackenzie, M. L. Carey & R. W. Sanson-Fisher

  2. Priority Research Centre for Gender, Health & Ageing; Priority Research Centre for Health Behaviour; Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Faculty of Health, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, 2308, Australia

    C. A. D’Este

  3. Hunter Medical Research Institute, Newcastle, Australia

    L. J. Mackenzie, M. L. Carey, R. W. Sanson-Fisher & C. A. D’Este

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  1. L. J. Mackenzie
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  2. M. L. Carey
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  4. C. A. D’Este
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Correspondence to L. J. Mackenzie.

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Mackenzie, L.J., Carey, M.L., Sanson-Fisher, R.W. et al. Psychological distress in cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy treatment. Support Care Cancer 21, 1043–1051 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-012-1624-3

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