Unmet needs and its relationship with the management of depression in patients suffering from cancer

Identifying of the unmet needs of patients suffering from cancer can provide the opportunity for need-based individual care plan. Meanwhile, the depression is a risk factor for reduced survival in cancer patients and also is known as an important factor in the treatment adherence, but can be managed by the patient. Therefore, this study aimed to identify unmet needs and its relationship with the management of depression in patients suffering from cancer. This is a cross-sectional, descriptive-correlational study. The study included 360 cancer patients admitted to Omid hospital in Mashhad. Data were collected from February 2014 until June 2014 by Census sampling. The data was gathered by three questionnaires including the demographic information, the Survivor Unmet Needs Survey and the self- management of depression. To determine the measures validity, factor analysis method was used And Alpha Cronbach were calculated to examine reliability of the measures. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 21 and Data analysis was performed by ANOVA, t-test, Pearson correlation and regression analysis statistical tests. 51.1% of patients were male and 48.9% were women.The majority of participants, 6.80% were married, 7.66% were employed and 9.26% had high school or college education. Most of participants had colon cancer were 17.8%, stomach cancer 13.6% and lung cancer 4.9% respectively. The highest unmet needs score was belonged to concern about work and financial needs with an average of (47.2±0.95), and the other unmet needs were belonged to information needs (2.44±0.95), needs for access and continuity of health care (2.34±0.98), coping and sharing needs (2.06±0.93), and emotional needs (1.98±0.92) respectively. There was a significant and reverse correlation between the total score of unmet needs and the score of depression management (r=-0.26; P<0.001). Nurses and other health workers are needed to determine the unmet needs of patients and plan their care based on the priorities of the patient's needs. However, they need to pay more attention to the role of the patient's management of depression in the amount of the unmet needs.