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Telephone monitoring of distress in patients aged 65 years or older with advanced stage cancer: a cancer and leukemia group B study.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Kornblith, AB; Dowell, JM; Herndon, JE; Engelman, BJ; Bauer-Wu, S; Small, EJ; Morrison, VA; Atkins, J; Cohen, HJ; Holland, JC
Published in: Cancer
December 1, 2006

BACKGROUND: Significant barriers to cancer patients receiving mental health treatment for distress have been reported in the literature. The objective of the current study was to determine whether distress in older patients (aged 65 years and older) would be reduced with educational materials (EM) supplemented by monthly telephone monitoring (TM) (TM + EM) compared with the use of EM alone because of more timely referrals to appropriate health professionals. METHODS: One hundred ninety-two older patients with breast, prostate, and colorectal cancers who had advanced disease and currently were receiving treatment were randomized to receive either TM + EM or EM alone. One hundred thirty-one patients were evaluated by telephone interview for psychologic and physical distress and for social support at baseline and at 6 months using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC)-QLQ-C30 quality-of-life questionnaire, and the Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) Social Support Survey. Patients who in the TM + EM group were called monthly for 6 months to monitor their distress using the HADS and EORTC physical symptom items and the MOS Social Support Survey items, with cutoff levels were established to indicate which patients were in greater distress. Those patients who scored above the cutoff levels were referred to their oncology nurse for referral to the appropriate professional. Patients in the EM group received written materials regarding cancer-related psychosocial issues and available resources. RESULTS: At 6 months, patients in the TM + EM group reported significantly less anxiety (HADS; P < .0001), depression (HADS; P = .0004), and overall distress (HADS; P < .0001) compared with patients in the EM group. CONCLUSIONS: Monthly monitoring of older patients' distress with TM and EM along with referral for appropriate help was found to be an efficient means of reducing patients' anxiety and depression compared with patients who received only EM.

Duke Scholars

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Published In

Cancer

DOI

ISSN

0008-543X

Publication Date

December 1, 2006

Volume

107

Issue

11

Start / End Page

2706 / 2714

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Telephone
  • Stress, Psychological
  • Prostatic Neoplasms
  • Patient Education as Topic
  • Oncology & Carcinogenesis
  • Neoplasms
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Female
  • Depression
 

Citation

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MLA
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Kornblith, A. B., Dowell, J. M., Herndon, J. E., Engelman, B. J., Bauer-Wu, S., Small, E. J., … Holland, J. C. (2006). Telephone monitoring of distress in patients aged 65 years or older with advanced stage cancer: a cancer and leukemia group B study. Cancer, 107(11), 2706–2714. https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.22296
Kornblith, Alice B., Jeannette M. Dowell, James E. Herndon, Beverly J. Engelman, Susan Bauer-Wu, Eric J. Small, Vicki A. Morrison, James Atkins, Harvey Jay Cohen, and Jimmie C. Holland. “Telephone monitoring of distress in patients aged 65 years or older with advanced stage cancer: a cancer and leukemia group B study.Cancer 107, no. 11 (December 1, 2006): 2706–14. https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.22296.
Kornblith AB, Dowell JM, Herndon JE, Engelman BJ, Bauer-Wu S, Small EJ, et al. Telephone monitoring of distress in patients aged 65 years or older with advanced stage cancer: a cancer and leukemia group B study. Cancer. 2006 Dec 1;107(11):2706–14.
Kornblith, Alice B., et al. “Telephone monitoring of distress in patients aged 65 years or older with advanced stage cancer: a cancer and leukemia group B study.Cancer, vol. 107, no. 11, Dec. 2006, pp. 2706–14. Pubmed, doi:10.1002/cncr.22296.
Kornblith AB, Dowell JM, Herndon JE, Engelman BJ, Bauer-Wu S, Small EJ, Morrison VA, Atkins J, Cohen HJ, Holland JC. Telephone monitoring of distress in patients aged 65 years or older with advanced stage cancer: a cancer and leukemia group B study. Cancer. 2006 Dec 1;107(11):2706–2714.
Journal cover image

Published In

Cancer

DOI

ISSN

0008-543X

Publication Date

December 1, 2006

Volume

107

Issue

11

Start / End Page

2706 / 2714

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Telephone
  • Stress, Psychological
  • Prostatic Neoplasms
  • Patient Education as Topic
  • Oncology & Carcinogenesis
  • Neoplasms
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Female
  • Depression