Attitudes, Knowledge and Clinical Practice of Health Professionals towards Psychological Disorders in Cancer Patients: An Observational Study

Autor: Maria Chiara Carriero, Antonio Leo, Alessia Lezzi, Roberto Lupo, Luana Conte, Annarita Fanizzi, Raffaella Massafra, Elsa Vitale, Antonio Carriero
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2024
Předmět:
Zdroj: Diseases, Vol 12, Iss 7, p 141 (2024)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2079-9721
DOI: 10.3390/diseases12070141
Popis: Background: The suffering associated with a cancer diagnosis can find different channels to express itself: sleep disorders, psychiatric disorders, sexuality. These are not always analyzed by health professionals, but they have an impact on the patient’s quality of life and on the outcome of the disease. Methods: An observational study was conducted in order to investigate attitudes, knowledge and clinical practice towards psychological symptoms in cancer patients. Results: A total of 132 clinicians from all Italian regions responded. In total, 99.2% (n = 131) considered the figure of the psychologist useful in the oncology field and recommended him/her in clinical practice (n = 115; 87.7%), especially in the terminal phase of the illness (58.6%; n = 99). Despite the importance given to the figure of the psychologist, psychiatric disorders are not diagnosed. Only 20.0% (n = 26) identified depressive disorder as accurate and only 33.9% (n = 43) identified demoralization syndrome as accurate. Conclusions: Results prove the need for training on psychological disorders in oncology and the emotional repercussions of cancer illness.
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