Barrieren der Inanspruchnahme psychoonkologischer Versorgung

Background: Today, the psycho-oncological care of cancer patients is an integral part of comprehensive oncological treatment. However, there are many barriers regarding the utilization of psycho-oncological support in everyday clinical practice. Objectives: What are the barriers to the utilization of psycho-oncological care? Materials and methods: This paper gives a narrative overview of available empirical evidence regarding individual barriers from the patient’s perspective, barriers regarding information and personal attitudes towards psycho-oncology as well as structural barriers. Results: More than 50% of clinically distressed patients with cancer do not use psycho-oncological support. With regard to individual barriers, it is shown that the timing, the way patients perceive their own psychological distress and the availability of personal/social resources have an impact on the utilization of psycho-oncological support offers. In addition, many patients are not sufficiently informed about the modalities and effects of psycho-oncological care. Structural barriers arise in the financing of these support offers as well as in the recording and documentation of patients’ needs for psycho-oncological care. Conclusions: Individual concerns regarding psycho-oncological support can be addressed with low-threshold, comprehensible and easily accessible information about the modalities and effects of psycho-oncological support. Close interdisciplinary cooperation is important here. Regulated funding, consequent recording and documentation of the psychosocial support needs (via distress screening), as well as digital solutions may reduce barriers on a structural level.