Psychosocial distress in outpatients with cancer: influence of demographic and medical factors on psychosocial distress and the perceived need of psycho-oncological support.

Introduction: Psychosocial distress in cancer patients can have a significant impact on quality of life and adherence to treatment. Psychosocial distress is often systematically recorded in an inpatient setting. Psychosocial distress is also assessed in outpatient oncological care using psycho-oncological screening. However, there is currently little evidence that considers the psychosocial distress, the perceived need for support and the disease-related sociodemographic factors in outpatient cancer patients. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, routine data from Results: 46.1% of cancer patients reported high distress (DT ≥ 5) and 10% indicated a perceived need for psycho-oncological support. Younger age, female gender, and the first year after diagnosis were significantly associated with high distress. The most common physical and psychosocial problems included skin problems, exhaustion, sleep disorders, pain, worries, and anxiety. Discussion: The results underscore the need for standardized distress screening in outpatient care, in order to identify need for support at an early stage and provide targeted interventions. Future studies should examine the factors that may influence utilization in more detail so that barriers can be further reduced and psycho-oncological interventions can be offered in an outpatient setting in a manner that is tailored to needs and requirements.