Lynex Clare, Meehan Drew, Whittaker Kate, Buchanan Tanya, Varlow Megan
Cancer Council Australia, Sydney, Australia.
School of Health and Society, Faculty of the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, 2522, Australia.
Support Care Cancer. 2025 May 30;33(6):516. doi: 10.1007/s00520-025-09593-5.
It is well established that people diagnosed with cancer often experience poor mental health, yet there are still inequities in access to appropriate care and support. This study set out to explore perceptions and experiences of mental health support, including facilitators and barriers, among people with cancer to help inform national cancer policy development in Australia.
We conducted semi-structured interviews with nine people diagnosed with cancer who accessed mental health support services or resources during their cancer care. Qualitative analysis using a social-ecological framework identified key themes that shaped their experience.
Psychosocial distress screening was identified as an important facilitator to enable access to needs-based supportive care services. There was strong advocacy for the role of peer support in helping individuals cope with emotional and psychological stressors associated with cancer care. There was a perception that disparities exist in the availability and accessibility of psycho-oncology services outside of metropolitan areas in Australia. Participants acknowledged that even if they had identified unmet supportive care needs and were referred for support, it was not always available, and that inequity exists in the supportive care services available based on cancer type, disease stage, and geographic location.
National policy levers aimed at improving the integration and implementation of psychosocial distress screening in cancer care and addressing inequities in access to supportive care services, such as peer support and psycho-oncologists, are needed to ensure adequate support for psychological wellbeing.
众所周知，被诊断患有癌症的人往往心理健康状况不佳，但在获得适当护理和支持方面仍存在不平等现象。本研究旨在探讨癌症患者对心理健康支持的看法和经历，包括促进因素和障碍，以帮助为澳大利亚的国家癌症政策制定提供信息。
我们对九名在癌症治疗期间获得心理健康支持服务或资源的癌症患者进行了半结构化访谈。使用社会生态框架进行定性分析，确定了影响他们经历的关键主题。
心理社会困扰筛查被确定为获得基于需求的支持性护理服务的重要促进因素。人们强烈主张同伴支持在帮助个人应对与癌症治疗相关的情绪和心理压力源方面的作用。人们认为，澳大利亚大都市地区以外的心理肿瘤学服务在可获得性和可及性方面存在差异。参与者承认，即使他们确定了未满足的支持性护理需求并被转介接受支持，支持也并非总是可用，并且基于癌症类型、疾病阶段和地理位置的支持性护理服务存在不平等现象。
需要国家政策杠杆来改善癌症护理中心理社会困扰筛查的整合和实施，并解决在获得同伴支持和心理肿瘤学家等支持性护理服务方面的不平等问题，以确保对心理健康提供充分支持。
