Framework for planning the delivery of psychosocial oncology services: An American psychosocial oncology society task force report.

OBJECTIVE

While screening for psychosocial distress is now the standard of care in oncology, little guidance is available on how best to deliver services in response to identified needs. The American Psychosocial Oncology Society (APOS) convened a task force with the goal of creating a framework that could aid in planning services and justifying requests for resources.

METHODS

Ten experts from multiple disciplines within psychosocial oncology served on the task force, first meeting together as a larger group over 2 days to set an agenda and then subsequently working in smaller teams to execute the goals. The task force used consensus methods for developing recommendations.

RESULTS

Three principles were identified for the framework. First, psychosocial oncology is a key component of population health, and population-based approaches to care delivery are required. Second, several key parameters shape psychosocial oncology services: resources, aims, and scope. To guide resource allocation, example priorities were identified for the aims and scope of services. Finally, cancer care centers should strive to ensure the delivery of high-quality psychosocial oncology care across all components of care. A range of practices was ranked by their potential contributions to achieving that goal.

CONCLUSIONS

This framework may aid in planning, evaluating, and refining the delivery of responsive psychosocial oncology services.