Disparities in Access to Psycho-Oncological Support Among Italian Head and Neck Cancer Patients
Maria Sansoni1,3, Luigi Corti2, Suzanne M. Miller3, Fabio Busato2, Elena Groff2
1Department of General Psychology, Padua University
2Radiotherapy Unit-Istituto Oncologico Veneto (IOV)
3Cancer Prevention and Control Program-Fox Chase Cancer Center
While studies have focused on cancer health disparities, little is known about health systems that guarantee free access to treatments. Despite the appearance of equitable treatment access, systems can be under-resourced, indirectly creating disparities. Italian head and neck cancer patients receive psycho-oncological support based on their perception and communication of supportive needs. This study assesses the relationship between this criterion and disparities in access to psycho-oncological support.
We recruited Italian head and neck cancer patients (N=15) who received psycho-oncological support either before or after their cancer treatment started. We assessed body image at four time points: before treatment and three time points post-treatment. Mixed Effect model analysis was completed to identify the effect of the psycho-oncological support over time.
Body dissatisfaction showed different trends among patients who received the psycho-oncological support before the beginning of the cancer treatment and those who received it after (p=.02). Patients who received the support before treatment reported high body dissatisfaction at baseline, improving over time, while those who received support post-treatment demonstrated an opposite trend.
Further data will be collected to increase the sample size. However, these preliminary findings suggest that relying on patients’ perception and communication of supportive needs increases the risk of disparities in accessing this service. If patients overestimate their resilience and underestimate post- treatments difficulties, their supportive needs might not be communicated, resulting in delay of service and non-receipt of benefits from the treatment. Future research should therefore seek to identify predictors to better screen patients in need of psycho-oncological support.
Email questions and comments about this abstract to maria.sansonipsic@gmail.com.
