Participation of oncological outpatients in psychosocial support

In total, 132 cancer patients in four oncology outpatient clinics in Hambur g completed a questionnaire consisting of a newly designed instrument for m easuring psychosocial support. In this questionnaire, patients were asked a bout their knowledge of institutions offering support, their previous parti cipation in psychosocial support, the reasons for participation and their e xperience with and attitude towards it. A second section consisted of stand ardized instruments: the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire (Aaronson), the Brief Symptom Inventory (Derogatis and Melisaratos), the List of Physical Complai nts (von Zerssen and Koller) and the Impact of Event Scale (Horowitz). Desc riptive and variance-analytical methods were used for the analysis of resul ts. Most respondents were women (88%). The largest group (72%) had a histor y of breast cancer. A total of 28% of the patients in the sample had partic ipated in psychosocial support, about 4% of these in self-help groups. Part icipants in psychosocial support did not differ from non-participants in ge nder, but they were significantly younger. They showed considerably higher scores in emotional and physical distress than non-participants, their atti tude towards psychosocial support was more positive, and they had more know ledge about institutions offering support than non-participants. The main r easons listed for their participation in psychosocial support were mental d istress, a desire to obtain help, and the wish to cope with the illness. Th e main reason for not participating was sufficient support from the family, friends or doctors. Copyright (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.