Aims
In 2012, a prostate cancer specialist nursing service was introduced to provide direct patient care in 12 health centres across Australia. This specialist role was evaluated to measure its impact on patients, their carers, and the health care system. As part of the evaluation, this study aimed to describe the changes in supportive care needs of carers of men with prostate cancer.
Methods
In this uncontrolled, two-cohort, comparative study, 129 carers in the six months before (Cohort 1) and 105 carers 18 months after (Cohort 2) the introduction of the service completed a questionnaire assessing their unmet supportive care needs (45 items) in relation to health care service, psychological and emotional, work and social, information and non-specific needs.
Results
The ten most frequently reported unmet needs were identified for each cohort. Seven unmet needs were the same for both cohorts: two related to health care service need (addressing fears about the person with cancer’s physical/mental deterioration; finding more accessible hospital parking), four related to psychological and emotional need (addressing problems with sex life; getting emotional support; coping with the person with cancer’s recovery not turning out as expected; making decisions about life in the context of uncertainty), and one related to work and social need (the impact on carer’s working/usual activities). The proportion of carers who reported that their needs were satisfied was higher among Cohort 2 than Cohort 1 for six of these seven items, although this only reached statistical significance for one item. Overall, Cohort 2 carers reported more satisfaction than Cohort 1 carers for 31 of 45 items
Conclusions
Although the implementation of the prostate cancer specialist nursing service did not substantially reduce unmet supportive care needs amongst carers, there was a trend for those using this service to report more satisfaction with their care.