Background and Purpose: Cancer is the leading cause of death in Taiwan population. Psychological distress of anxiety and depression may be exhibited throughout the diagnosis of cancer and treatment process, however, it is often unrecognized, and can have an impact on the treatment and recovery of patients. The purpose of this research was to investigate the psychological distress of anxiety and depression among three types of cancer inpatient (breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and cervical cancer) and its relationships to demographic and illness-related risk factors. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out with 95 patients with breast cancer, colorectal, and cervical cancer recruited from a medical centre in northern Taiwan. Data were collected using the structured questionnaire that included the demographic, disease characteristics and profile of mood state questionnaire. Results: From the 95 patients studied, percentage of 84.2 was women, and 48.4% was 45-64 years. Mean POMS for anxiety 4.92±4.36 (range 0-18), and depression 3.89±5.26 (range 0-24). The psychological distress was mild anxiety and depression for all subjects. The study showed that younger age and breast cancer patients had severe psychological distress (p < .05). Conclusion: Health professionals should be positively understanding about psychological distress of anxiety and depression and associated factors among patient with cancer. The results of this study could be used to provide appropriate consultation, health education, emotional support, and help to improvement in psychological distress of patients.
Background and Purpose: Cancer is the leading cause of death in Taiwan population. Psychological distress of anxiety and depression may be exhibited throughout the diagnosis of cancer and treatment process, however, it is often unrecognized, and can have an impact on the treatment and recovery of patients. The purpose of this research was to investigate the psychological distress of anxiety and depression among three types of cancer inpatient (breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and cervical cancer) and its relationships to demographic and illness-related risk factors. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out with 95 patients with breast cancer, colorectal, and cervical cancer recruited from a medical centre in northern Taiwan. Data were collected using the structured questionnaire that included the demographic, disease characteristics and profile of mood state questionnaire. Results: From the 95 patients studied, percentage of 84.2 was women, and 48.4% was 45-64 years. Mean POMS for anxiety 4.92±4.36 (range 0-18), and depression 3.89±5.26 (range 0-24). The psychological distress was mild anxiety and depression for all subjects. The study showed that younger age and breast cancer patients had severe psychological distress (p < .05). Conclusion: Health professionals should be positively understanding about psychological distress of anxiety and depression and associated factors among patient with cancer. The results of this study could be used to provide appropriate consultation, health education, emotional support, and help to improvement in psychological distress of patients.