Access to psychosocial support for people with brain tumor and family members: Healthcare professional perspectives

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Lion, KM
Pike, KE
Dhillon, HM
Koh, ES
Pinkham, MB
Shaw, J
Halkett, GKB
Ownsworth, T
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2023
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Abstract

Objectives: Ongoing access to psychosocial support is important to maintain the well-being of people with brain tumor (PwBT) and their families; yet, there is limited knowledge of psychosocial care access. This qualitative study aimed to develop an understanding of psychosocial support pathways specific to PwBT from the perspectives of Australian healthcare professionals. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 healthcare professionals working in hospital and community services supporting PwBT and their family members. Transcribed interviews were coded and analyzed thematically. Results: The three major themes identified were: (1) Challenges in fitting people into the care system within existing pathways; (2) Benefits of longer-term care coordination and interdisciplinary connections; and (3) Brain tumor affects the whole family. Despite established psychosocial care pathways, service access varied and lacked continuity for individuals with lower-grade glioma and benign tumors across the illness trajectory. Conclusions: Healthcare professionals recognize the need for improved access to care coordination and multidisciplinary psychosocial care tailored to the varying needs of PwBT and their families.

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Psycho-Oncology

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© 2023 The Authors. Psycho-Oncology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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This publication has been entered in Griffith Research Online as an advanced online version.

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Biomedical and clinical sciences

Psychology

brain tumor

cancer

health professionals

oncology

psycho-oncology

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Lion, KM; Pike, KE; Dhillon, HM; Koh, ES; Pinkham, MB; Shaw, J; Halkett, GKB; Ownsworth, T, Access to psychosocial support for people with brain tumor and family members: Healthcare professional perspectives, Psycho-Oncology, 2023

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