Prospective cohort study of unmet supportive care needs, post-traumatic growth, coping strategy and social supports among patients with breast cancer: The PenBCNeeds study

• Published in: Journal of Psychosocial Oncology
• Main Author: Azman N.; Leong Bin Abdullah M.F.I.; Musa K.I.; Hassan N.; Mohd Shariff N.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Routledge 2024
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85187127673&doi=10.1080%2f07347332.2024.2325498&partnerID=40&md5=c0c06c5015d5bae85eabffe92c518a30

Purpose: While the unmet healthcare needs are still being improved upon, the wellbeing of cancer patients has increasingly become a prime concern in Malaysia. The objective of this study is to ascertain the trend of unmet supportive care needs, post-traumatic growth (P T G), coping strategies, and social supports among patients with breast cancer over the three time points of treatment: T1 at early diagnosis, T2 for three months after diagnosis, and T3 for six months after diagnosis. Methods: A total of 240 cancer patients participated in this prospective cohort study, with follow-up visits from October 2019 until July 2021. Data were collected using several instruments: Brief COP E, the Source of Social Support Scale (SSSS), the Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory - Short Form (P T GI-SF), and a Malay version of the 34-Item Shortform Supportive Care Need Survey (SCNS-SF34). Results: The results indicated a significant change from T1 to T3 for all domains of the unmet needs (p-value < 0.001), except for the sexual domain. A lower SCNS-SF34 score resulted from more unfavorable social support. The P T GI-SF results indicated a trend toward meeting the unmet needs, and a higher SCNS-SF-34 score predicted a considerably higher P T GI-SF score. Conclusions: Our study findings suggest that majority of the factors evaluated in terms of unmet needs among cancer patients have undergone considerable changes. © 2024 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.