Toward a New Personalized Psycho-social Approach for the Support of Prostate Cancer and Their Caregivers Dyads: a Pilot Study

Overview

Journal Front Med (Lausanne)

Specialty General Medicine

Date 2024 Apr 22

PMID 38646557

Authors

Clizia Cincidda

Silvia Francesca Maria Pizzoli

Serena Oliveri

Paolo Guiddi

Gabriella Pravettoni

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Introduction: Prostate cancer patients (PCP) often struggle with a significant emotional, physical, and social burden during the care-flow pathway. Noteworthy, PCP should not be considered a standalone patient, but someone who is connected with a relevant social environment and that is usually supported by a beloved one, the caregiver. The involvement of the caregivers through the care pathway might bring significant benefits both on the psychological and the treatment and decision-making side. The present pilot study aimed at preliminarily assessing quantitatively the psychological impact of a prostate cancer diagnosis on the degree of agreement of PCPs and their caregivers on medical decisions, coping resources and psychological distress levels.

Methods: 16 PCP and their caregivers were enrolled in the study and fulfilled a battery of standardized questionnaires.

Results: Results showed low concordance in decision making styles and preferences in patients and their caregivers and that the dyads showed similar depression symptoms levels. Relevant features of the psychological needs of the analyzed dyads, such as need for information and support, also emerged.

Conclusion: On the basis of these preliminary results, guidelines for the construction of tailored brief psychological support interventions for PCP dyads are provided.

References

Kriston L, Scholl I, Holzel L, Simon D, Loh A, Harter M . The 9-item Shared Decision Making Questionnaire (SDM-Q-9). Development and psychometric properties in a primary care sample. Patient Educ Couns. 2009; 80(1):94-9. DOI: 10.1016/j.pec.2009.09.034. View

Ilie G, Rendon R, Mason R, MacDonald C, Kucharczyk M, Patil N . A Comprehensive 6-mo Prostate Cancer Patient Empowerment Program Decreases Psychological Distress Among Men Undergoing Curative Prostate Cancer Treatment: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Eur Urol. 2023; 83(6):561-570. DOI: 10.1016/j.eururo.2023.02.009. View

Grignoli N, Di Bernardo V, Malacrida R . New perspectives on substituted relational autonomy for shared decision-making in critical care. Crit Care. 2018; 22(1):260. PMC: 6182794. DOI: 10.1186/s13054-018-2187-6. View

Bjelland I, Dahl A, Haug T, Neckelmann D . The validity of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. An updated literature review. J Psychosom Res. 2002; 52(2):69-77. DOI: 10.1016/s0022-3999(01)00296-3. View

Shin D, Cho J, Roter D, Kim S, Yang H, Park K . Attitudes Toward Family Involvement in Cancer Treatment Decision Making: The Perspectives of Patients, Family Caregivers, and Their Oncologists. Psychooncology. 2016; 26(6):770-778. DOI: 10.1002/pon.4226. View

Trevino K, Prigerson H, Shen M, Tancredi D, Xing G, Hoerger M . Association between advanced cancer patient-caregiver agreement regarding prognosis and hospice enrollment. Cancer. 2019; 125(18):3259-3265. PMC: 6717015. DOI: 10.1002/cncr.32188. View

Yiannopoulou K, Anastasiou A, Kontoangelos K, Papageorgiou C, Anastasiou I . Cognitive and Psychological Impacts of Different Treatment Options for Prostate Cancer: A Critical Analysis. Curr Urol. 2021; 14(4):169-177. PMC: 7810213. DOI: 10.1159/000499242. View

Malhotra C, Kanesvaran R, Kumarakulasinghe N, Tan S, Xiang L, Tulsky J . Oncologist-patient-caregiver decision-making discussions in the context of advanced cancer in an Asian setting. Health Expect. 2019; 23(1):220-228. PMC: 6978867. DOI: 10.1111/hex.12994. View

Gray R, Fitch M, Phillips C, Labrecque M, Klotz L . Presurgery experiences of prostate cancer patients and their spouses. Cancer Pract. 1999; 7(3):130-5. DOI: 10.1046/j.1523-5394.1999.07308.x. View

10.

Miller S . Monitoring and blunting: validation of a questionnaire to assess styles of information seeking under threat. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1987; 52(2):345-53. DOI: 10.1037//0022-3514.52.2.345. View

11.

Degner L, Sloan J, Venkatesh P . The Control Preferences Scale. Can J Nurs Res. 1998; 29(3):21-43. View

12.

Varner S, Lloyd G, Ranby K, Callan S, Robertson C, Lipkus I . Illness uncertainty, partner support, and quality of life: A dyadic longitudinal investigation of couples facing prostate cancer. Psychooncology. 2019; 28(11):2188-2194. DOI: 10.1002/pon.5205. View

13.

Ware Jr J, Kosinski M, Keller S . A 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey: construction of scales and preliminary tests of reliability and validity. Med Care. 1996; 34(3):220-33. DOI: 10.1097/00005650-199603000-00003. View

14.

Hodges L, Humphris G, Macfarlane G . A meta-analytic investigation of the relationship between the psychological distress of cancer patients and their carers. Soc Sci Med. 2004; 60(1):1-12. DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2004.04.018. View

15.

Hobbs G, Landrum M, Arora N, Ganz P, Van Ryn M, Weeks J . The role of families in decisions regarding cancer treatments. Cancer. 2015; 121(7):1079-87. PMC: 4368490. DOI: 10.1002/cncr.29064. View

16.

Del Piccolo L, Goss C, Bottacini A, Rigoni V, Mazzi M, Deledda G . Asking questions during breast cancer consultations: does being alone or being accompanied make a difference?. Eur J Oncol Nurs. 2014; 18(3):299-304. DOI: 10.1016/j.ejon.2014.02.001. View

17.

Legare F, Stacey D, Gagnon S, Dunn S, Pluye P, Frosch D . Validating a conceptual model for an inter-professional approach to shared decision making: a mixed methods study. J Eval Clin Pract. 2010; 17(4):554-64. PMC: 3170704. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2753.2010.01515.x. View

18.

Mishra S, Gulia A, Satapathy S, Gogia A, Sharma A, Bhatnagar S . Caregiver Burden and Quality of Life among Family Caregivers of Cancer Patients on Chemotherapy: A Prospective Observational Study. Indian J Palliat Care. 2021; 27(1):109-112. PMC: 8121224. DOI: 10.4103/IJPC.IJPC_180_20. View

19.

Chen M, Gong J, Cao Q, Luo X, Li J, Li Q . A literature review of the relationship between dyadic coping and dyadic outcomes in cancer couples. Eur J Oncol Nurs. 2021; 54:102035. DOI: 10.1016/j.ejon.2021.102035. View

20.

Sinfield P, Baker R, Camosso-Stefinovic J, Colman A, Tarrant C, Mellon J . Men's and carers' experiences of care for prostate cancer: a narrative literature review. Health Expect. 2009; 12(3):301-12. PMC: 5060497. DOI: 10.1111/j.1369-7625.2009.00546.x. View