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M. Ftanou



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    MS 19 - Global Nursing Issues in Lung Cancer (ID 37)

    • Event: WCLC 2015
    • Type: Mini Symposium
    • Track: Nursing and Allied Professionals
    • Presentations: 1
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      MS19.02 - Screening for Distress, the 6th Vital Sign - Review and Practical Implications (ID 1932)

      14:15 - 15:45  |  Author(s): M. Ftanou

      • Abstract
      • Presentation

      Abstract:
      This paper discusses the prevalence of distress in the lung cancer population, reviews the benefits and barriers of screening and provides practical strategies to implement psychosocial screening. Background: Lung cancer is the leading cause of death by cancer for both men and women worldwide. Most lung cancers are diagnosed at advanced stage and approximately 15% of lung cancer patients will be alive five years post-diagnosis.[1] Psychosocial distress is common for those experiencing cancer. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) defines psychosocial distress as ‘an unpleasant experience of an emotional, psychological, social or spiritual nature, that interferes with the ability to cope with cancer treatment, which extends along a continuum from common normal feelings of vulnerability, sadness and fear, to problems that are disabling such as true depression, anxiety, panic and feeling isolated or in a spiritual crisis’. The NCCN considers distress to be a treatable complication of cancer.[2] Lung cancer patients’ distress levels are among the highest of all cancer types with up to 60% of lung cancer patients experiencing clinical level of psychological distress compared with approximately 35% of patients with other cancer diagnoses.[3 4] These high levels of distress have been found to continue throughout the course of the illness. Prevalence of anxiety and depression in patients with lung cancer ranges from 20% to 50% [3 5] and patients with lung cancer have been identified as having one of the highest rates of suicide within the cancer population. [6] Distress has been associated with a deterioration in quality of life, higher pain levels, increased fatigue, increased family burden and reduced adherence to medical treatments. Despite high levels of distress in this population, lung cancer patients also report experiencing a significantly higher mean number of unmet needs 15.6 (95% CI 12.1–19.1), compared to 10.9 (95% CI 10.0–11.8) in other cancer patients.[7] Psychosocial distress screening Distress screening is defined as "a brief method for prospectively identifying, triaging, and educating cancer patients and their families at risk for illness-related biopsychosocial complications that undermine the ability to fully benefit from medical care, the efficiency of the clinical encounter, patient satisfaction, and safety."[2] Practice clinical guidelines recommend that all cancer patients undergo regular screening, with the American College of Surgeons (ACoS) Commission on Cancer (CoC) requiring cancer centers to implement screening programs for psychosocial distress as a new criterion for accreditation as of 2015. Without formal screening, distress may go unrecognized, clinicians could focus on the medical aspects of the illness and consider distress as a “normal” part of cancer and patients may not be offered effective biopsychosocial treatments to address distress. Without intervention for distress, the distress of lung cancer patients has been found to remain high, post six months of medical treatment.[8] Many tools exist for the screening of distress and these tools have undergone varying degrees of validation in the lung cancer patient group. The Distress Thermometer is the most popular of these tools and has been found to be both acceptable to patients with lung cancer and clinicians. In deciding which distress screening tool to employ, it is important that effective screening takes both disease (i.e. stage of illness, prognosis, side-effects, functional impairment) and demographic risk factors (i.e. age, isolation, past mental health history) into account, is easy to administer and sensitive to the identification of distress. Screening accompanied by discussion with lung cancer patients was found to be more effective than screening alone.[8] Overall, routine screening leads to improvements in communication with patient, families and staff, enhances psychosocial referrals improves symptom management and quality of life. However, some barriers may exist to the successful implementation of routine screening, including: a lack of knowledge about screening; a lack of training about how to manage distress; limited resources and time pressure; lack of institutional support; and a concern that screening may lead to ‘false positives’.[9] Implementing screening for distress recommendation The successful implementation of routing screening needs to be considered at the institutional, multidisciplinary team and individual clinician level. At an organizational level, screening and psychosocial care needs to be valued, prioritized and embedded in policy. Organizations need to ensure adequate psychosocial resources are available, staff are adequately trained and supported and that there is an ongoing evaluation of any psychosocial screening and referral process. At a multidisciplinary team level, the team needs to view psychosocial screening and treatment as part of routine care and distress needs to be assessed across the cancer trajectory, not just at a single point.[10] Treating team members need to consistently inform patients and families that the management of distress is a central part of their medical care. Teams should use a validated and easy to use instrument to assess distress and all screening should be followed by a triage discussion to help formulate treatment plans and referrals. Treatment plans must be clearly documented and communicated to the patient, family and team.[10] At an individual level, clinician should implement policy and procedures that support routine screening and access relevant training, support and supervision. Conclusion Lung cancer patients are among the most distressed and at risk cancer population. Evidence suggests that treating teams must take a person-centred approach to treatment including consideration of patients’ psychosocial needs. Routine screening allows practitioners and treating teams to appropriately consider psychosocial care and engage patients in intervention to minimize the potential negative impacts of untreated or poorly treated distress. References 1. American Cancer Society. Cancer facts and figures 2013. Atlanta, GA: American Cancer Society, 2013. 2. Network NCC. Clinical Practice Guidelines inOncology on Distress Management: National Comprehensive Cancer Network, 2011. 3. Zabora J, BrintzenhofeSzoc K, Curbow B, et al. The prevalence of psychological distress by cancer site. . Psychooncology 2001;10(1):19-28. 4. Graves KD, Arnold SM, Love CL, et al. Distress screening in a multidisciplinary lung cancer clinic: prevalence and predictors of clinically significant distress. Lung Cancer 2007;55(2):215-24 5. Linden W, Vodermaier A, Mackenzie R, et al. Anxiety and depression after cancer diagnosis. Prevalence rates by cancer type, gender, and age. J Affect Disord 2012;;141:343–51 6. Urban D, Rao A, Bressel M, et al. Suicide in lung cancer: who is at risk? Chest 2013;144(4):1245-52 doi: 10.1378/chest.12-2986[published Online First: Epub Date]|. 7. Li J, Girgis A. Supportive care needs: are patients with lung cancer a neglected population? Psycho-Oncology 2006;15(6):509-16 8. Carlson LE, Waller A, Groff SL, et al. Screening for distress, the sixth vital sign, in lung cancer patients: effects on pain, fatigue, and common problems-secondary outcomes of a randomized controlled trial. Psycho-Oncology 2013;22(8):1880-88 doi: 10.1002/pon.3223[published Online First: Epub Date]|. 9. Ristevski E, Breen S, Regan M. Incorporating supportive care into routine cancer care: the benefits and challenges to clinicians' practice. Oncology Nursing Forum 2011;38(3):E204-E11 doi: 10.1188/11.ONF.E204-E211[published Online First: Epub Date]|. 10. Pirl W, Braun I, Deshields T, et al. Implementing Screening for Distress. The Joint Position Statement from the American Psychosocial Oncology Society, Association of Oncology Social Work and Oncology Nursing Society merican Psychosocial Oncology Society, Association of Oncology Social Work and Oncology Nursing Society, 2015.

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