В Австралии выявили, что 64% пациентов с раком не получают направление к специалистам после скрининга психологического дистресса

Integrating mental health professionals into oncology care teams is an important step toward ensuring that distress screening leads to meaningful, patient-centered care that better meets the psychological needs of patients undergoing care for cancer. These study findings were published in Psycho-Oncology. “Psychological distress is common among patients receiving outpatient oncology care. However, the referrals following screening may not adequately address these concerns, and patients are frequently directed to external services disconnected from the oncology care team,” explained a team of researchers at a large Australian hospital.  The researchers conducted a retrospective, observational cohort study to characterize the psychological distress that patients often experience after a cancer screening, as well as the subsequent referral pathway.  In this study, all outpatient medical oncology distress screenings were extracted from patient medical records over a 6-month period. Eligible patients had completed the Oncology Supportive Care Screening Tool (OSCST) between December 1, 2023 and May 31, 2024 and were older than 18 years. Data were extracted from 850 distress screening encounters with 773 oncology outpatients.   After 82 (9.6%) encounters were declined, the researchers analyzed 768 completed distress screenings. Of those, 60.4% reported psychological concerns and 53.6% reported clinically significant distress ( NCCN distress thermometer [DT] score of 4 or higher).  Overall, 24.5% of the screenings resulted in 1 referral and 11.3% resulted in 2 or more referrals, but 64.2% resulted in no referrals. Additionally, among the screening records that showed a clinically significant level of distress, 55.6% did not receive a referral following screening. “ The clinical value of distress screening therefore depends on the alignment between screening processes, referral options, and available supportive care resources within oncology settings. A closer look at the association between endorsement of emotional concerns and clinical distress with referral after screening showed most of the referrals were directed to external services, rather than being integrated within the oncology care team. Only 5 referrals went to hospital-based psycho-oncology services.  The researchers noted that the effectiveness of screening relies on the availability of services that can meet the identified needs of patients. Otherwise, the screening would serve primarily as a documentation tool. “The clinical value of distress screening therefore depends on the alignment between screening processes, referral options, and available supportive care resources within oncology settings,” the researchers concluded. Disclosures: The study authors declare no conflicts of interest. References: Matthews E, Webber K, Parker C, et al. Identifying and addressing distress in cancer care: a study of screening outcomes and referrals in Australian oncology outpatients. Psychooncology. 2026;35(8):e70584. doi:10.1002/pon.70584