Brief Communication: Screening for distress in community settings

Abstract

Purpose: This project was designed to develop, refine and field-test a distress screening approach with survivors accessing community-based cancer support agencies.

Methods: The project was conducted in phases including a literature review and focus groups with cancer survivors and community agency staff. Data were gathered to lay the foundation for building a subsequent development and implementation of a new screening approach suitable for community-based cancer support agencies to use in identifying psychosocial distress in their clients.

Results: Standardized questionnaires used for distress screening approaches in clinical settings were not seen by cancer survivors as appropriate for community-based cancer support settings. A new screening approach was designed and implemented based on input from cancer survivors and staff in community-based agencies. The tool used in the distress screening approach focused on problems relevant to individuals in the community setting. If problems were identified, staff followed tailored care pathways to resolve them. Both patients and staff found the screening approach useful for quickly pinpointing problems and avenues for dealing with the issues.

Conclusions: Screening for distress approaches can be useful in a community-based cancer support setting to identify individuals who are at greater risk for experiencing difficulties. Data from screening can be useful for agencies to report on their service effectiveness.