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Psychiatric morbidity and its recognition by doctors in patients with cancer
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-07, 16:19 authored by Lesley FallowfieldLesley Fallowfield, D. Ratcliffe, Valerie JenkinsValerie Jenkins, J. SaulPsychiatric morbidity in patients with cancer is high and without appropriate treatment unremitting. We assessed the ability of 143 doctors to establish the psychological status of 2297 patients during outpatient consultations in 34 cancer centres and hospitals in the UK. Prior to seeing the doctor, consenting patients completed a short self-report questionnaire (GHQ12), designed for the psychological screening of large populations. At the end of the consultation, doctors completed visual analogue scales rating patients' distress. 837/2297 (36.4%) patients had GHQ scores suggestive of psychiatric morbidity. The doctors' sensitivity (true positive rate) was 28.87% (SD 25.29), specificity (true negative rate) 84.79% (SD 17.44). The misclassification rate was 34.7% (SD 13.79) meaning that for 797 patients the wrong assessment was probably made. These data show that much of the probable psychiatric morbidity experienced by patients with cancer goes unrecognized and therefore untreated. Doctors need communication skills training to elicit problems during consultations. Appropriate referrals to psychological services are necessary when patients requiring help are identified and ought to be an integral part of cancer care.
History
Publication status
- Published
Journal
British Journal of CancerISSN
0007-0920Publisher
Nature Publishing GroupExternal DOI
Issue
8Volume
84Page range
1011-1015Department affiliated with
- Sussex Health Outcomes Research & Education in Cancer (SHORE-C) Publications
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- No
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2012-04-26Usage metrics
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