Psychosocial status of Hungarian cancer patients. A descriptive study

Abstract

Introduction: Psychosocial status of cancer patients is still understudied in Hungary. Aim: The aim of the authors was to obtain current information on the mental and social status of this patient group. Method: Altogether, 1070 cancer patients with a wide range of cancer types were included in the study (30.0% male; age: 55.9±11.0 years). Results: A large part of the patients had serious financial difficulties and 41.3% of them were struggling with at least one more comorbid chronic disease. Further, 52.2% of the patients reported at least moderate anxiety or depression, while the occurrence of suicidal thoughts was almost three times higher among them than in the Hungarian normal population (13.0% vs. 4.6%). Level of perceived social support was also lower than the population standards and 61.6% of the patients reported willingness to benefit from professional psychological support. Quality of social life of the patients deteriorated with time after cancer diagnosis. A positive phenomenon, however, was that the primary coping style reported was active problem solving. Conclusions: The authors conclude that it is necessary to screen cancer patients for psychosocial difficulties and to establish conditions for their adequate mental and social care in Hungary. Orv. Hetil., 2014, 155(26), 1024–1032.