Patient-provider discussion about emotional and social needs, mental health outcomes, and benefit finding among U.S. Adults living with cancer

DOI

10.1002/cam4.3918

Authors

Young-Rock Hong, Department of Health Services Research, Management and Policy, College of Public Health and Health Professions, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Sandhya Yadav, Department of Health Services Research, Management and Policy, College of Public Health and Health Professions, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Ryan Suk, Center for Health Services Research, Department of Management, Policy and Community Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center School of Public Health, Houston, TX, USA.
Ahmad Khanijahani, Rangos School of Health Sciences, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Daniel Erim, Parexel International, Durham, NC, USA.
Kea Turner, Department of Health Outcomes and Behavior, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, USA.

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

6-1-2021

Publication Title

Cancer medicine

Volume

10

Issue

11

First Page

3622

Last Page

3634

Abstract

BACKGROUND: A discussion about patient's nonmedical needs during treatment is considered a crucial component of high-quality patient-provider communication. We examined whether having a patient-provider discussion about cancer patients' emotional and social needs is associated with their psychological well-being. METHODS: Using the 2016-2017 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey-Experiences with Cancer Survivorship Supplement (MEPS-ECSS) data, we identified the cancer survivors in the United States (US) who reported having a detailed discussion about emotional and social needs during cancer care. We used multivariable logistic regression to assess the association between having a patient-provider discussion and the patients' psychological well-being outcomes (depressive symptoms, severe psychological distress, and worrying about cancer recurrence/worsening condition) and benefit finding experience after a cancer diagnosis. RESULTS: Among 1433 respondents (equivalent to 13.8 million cancer survivors in the US), only 33.6% reported having a detailed patient-provider discussion about their emotional and social needs. Having a discussion was associated with 55% lower odds (odds ratio [OR], 0.45; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.26-0.77) of having depressive symptoms and 97% higher odds (OR, 1.97; 95% CI, 1.46-2.66) of having benefit finding experience. There was no statistically significant association between patient-provider discussion and psychological distress or worrying about cancer recurrence/worsening. CONCLUSION: Detailed patient-provider discussion about the cancer patients' emotional and social needs was associated with a lower likelihood of depressive symptoms and a higher likelihood of experiencing benefit finding. These findings stress the importance of improving the patient-provider discussion about psychosocial needs in cancer survivorship.

Open Access

OA

Preprint

Additional Link

Repository Citation

Hong, Y., Yadav, S., Suk, R., Khanijahani, A., Erim, D., & Turner, K. (2021). Patient-provider discussion about emotional and social needs, mental health outcomes, and benefit finding among U.S. Adults living with cancer. Cancer medicine, 10 (11), 3622-3634. https://doi.org/10.1002/cam4.3918