TY - JOUR
T1 - Comparison of perceptions of unmet supportive care needs between cancer patients and their oncologists
AU - Nair, Satish Chandrasekhar
AU - Hassen, Waleed A.
AU - Sreedharan, Jayadevan
AU - Qawasmeh, Khaled
AU - Ibrahim, Halah
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.
PY - 2019/11/1
Y1 - 2019/11/1
N2 - Purpose: The prevalence of cancer in the Middle East is increasing and predicted to nearly double by 2030. In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), cancer ranks as the third leading cause of death. Yet, there are limited data describing the needs of cancer patients in the region. The purpose of this study is to compare cancer patients’ reports of unmet supportive care needs with the perceptions of their oncologists. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of cancer patients and their oncologists, using an Arabic translation of the short form of the Supportive Care Needs Survey (SCNS-SF34), was conducted at a major oncology center in the UAE between December 2014 and March 2017. Descriptive statistics and McNemar test were calculated to determine differences in unmet need responses between oncologists and patients. Results: Nine physicians (100%) and 210 of 268 (78.3%) patients completed the questionnaire. Oncologists accurately assessed the level of unmet physical needs of their patients, but significantly underestimated unmet psychological supportive care needs of the patients. Male patients expressed significantly lower (p < 0.05) physical and psychological unmet needs, compared to female patients. Conclusion: Our findings reveal a general concordance between physician and patient perspectives of unmet supportive care needs. This is reassuring as physician perceptions impact the care patients receive. We present multifaceted supportive care strategies for oncology patients in the region.
AB - Purpose: The prevalence of cancer in the Middle East is increasing and predicted to nearly double by 2030. In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), cancer ranks as the third leading cause of death. Yet, there are limited data describing the needs of cancer patients in the region. The purpose of this study is to compare cancer patients’ reports of unmet supportive care needs with the perceptions of their oncologists. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of cancer patients and their oncologists, using an Arabic translation of the short form of the Supportive Care Needs Survey (SCNS-SF34), was conducted at a major oncology center in the UAE between December 2014 and March 2017. Descriptive statistics and McNemar test were calculated to determine differences in unmet need responses between oncologists and patients. Results: Nine physicians (100%) and 210 of 268 (78.3%) patients completed the questionnaire. Oncologists accurately assessed the level of unmet physical needs of their patients, but significantly underestimated unmet psychological supportive care needs of the patients. Male patients expressed significantly lower (p < 0.05) physical and psychological unmet needs, compared to female patients. Conclusion: Our findings reveal a general concordance between physician and patient perspectives of unmet supportive care needs. This is reassuring as physician perceptions impact the care patients receive. We present multifaceted supportive care strategies for oncology patients in the region.
KW - Cancer supportive care needs
KW - Middle East
KW - Oncology
KW - Physician perceptions
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85062767806&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s00520-019-04705-4
DO - 10.1007/s00520-019-04705-4
M3 - Article
C2 - 30847701
AN - SCOPUS:85062767806
SN - 0941-4355
VL - 27
SP - 4229
EP - 4235
JO - Supportive Care in Cancer
JF - Supportive Care in Cancer
IS - 11
ER -