Comparison of the uncertainty level of radical prostatectomy recipients with or without psychological support

Prostate cancer survivorship: a nurse-led service model

A significant proportion of men suffer side effects and are acknowledged to have unmet physical, functional and psychological needs after prostate cancer treatment. A nurse-led survivorship programme was implemented at Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust for men with prostate cancer. This article describes implementation of the model and presents the results of an early evaluation to assess its impact. In the first 6 months 169 men (90% of those invited) engaged in the survivorship programme. Holistic needs assessments in particular were found to be invaluable for addressing individual men's needs and signposting them to relevant services. Collaboration between existing organisations and initiatives across primary and secondary care resulted in the establishment of a comprehensive network of services available to men on the programme. The nurse-led Newcastle survivorship model has been able to deliver individualised survivorship care with a high satisfaction rating within routine NHS practice.

Meeting the unmet support needs of BME men with prostate cancer

Men with prostate cancer from black and minority ethnic (BME) communities have reported many unmet information and support needs. A literature review identified the many challenges health professionals face in addressing these unmet needs, and suggested that not enough is known about the psychosocial effects of a prostate cancer diagnosis on men from BME communities in the UK. Affected men may have little or no awareness or knowledge of prostate cancer, receive inadequate information and fear the disease. Nurses can address these issues through improving patients' knowledge and awareness of prostate cancer, providing high-quality information to patients and their families, alleviating fear and promoting survivorship among this minority group; they can also facilitate staff training. Health professionals should look beyond the physical effects and consider the psychosocial effects of such a diagnosis when assessing the needs of these men. Practitioners need to overcome the various challenges to meeting these needs to provide more effective care to men from BME groups.

Systematic review of research into the psychological aspects of prostate cancer in Asia: what do we know?

BACKGROUND

To review the peer reviewed literature on the psychological aspects of the prostate cancer experience of men in Asia.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Medline and PsycINFO, CINAHL, ProQuest, and Web of Science (1999 - November Week 4, 2012) were searched. Inclusion criteria were: included men with prostate cancer and/or their partners or caregivers who identify as Asian recruited in an Asian country; and assessed health-related quality of life, psychological and social adjustment relating to prostate cancer and published in English after 1st January 1999 and prior to 30th November, 2012. Study aims; design; quality; level of evidence, and key results were assessed.

RESULTS

43 articles met all inclusion criteria and were retained for initial review. Of these most focussed on health-related QOL with only five evidence Level IV studies from Japan and Taiwan including a specific psychological focus. Of these, one was a cross-sectional case control study; three were cross- sectional descriptive quantitative designs; one was a cross-sectional descriptive qualitative study. From the data available, a substantive sub group of men with prostate cancer (approximately one third) in these countries experience clinically high psychological distress and decision regret.

CONCLUSIONS

Research on the psychological needs of men with the increasingly prevalent condition of prostate cancer in Asian countries is scant with only a small number of low level evidence descriptive studies identified. Future research to underpin the development and evaluation of effective and culturally relevant psychological and supportive care interventions for such men is urgently needed.