Psychosocial Care in Oncology

Emotional distress and mental health for patients and caregivers can greatly impact quality of life, treatment outcomes, and even the cost of care. While progress has been made with distress screening, finding effective and efficient practice solutions to address these needs can tax the care delivery system and contribute to staff stress and burnout.

Delivery of Psychosocial Care in Oncology Summit

To help its membership address access and delivery of psychosocial services, on March 8, 2023 ACCC hosted a multistakeholder summit in partnership with The American Psychosocial Oncology Society (APOS) and The Association of Oncology Social Work (AOSW) focused on psychosocial care delivery in oncology to:

• Provide a forum for healthcare leaders, cancer care team members, and patient advocates to discuss the current state of mental health in oncology.
• Build a collaborative dialogue amongst all interested stakeholders to identify action plans that address ongoing mental health issues for patients, caregivers, and cancer care team members.
• Review and identify effective screening tools, training, resources, and policies to address psychological distress in patients, caregivers, and cancer care professionals.
• Identify barriers to providing and accessing timely and appropriate care for patients and caregivers experiencing psychological distress.

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Executive Summary

Invitees included individuals from across the multidisciplinary psychosocial cancer care team, including key leadership representatives of advocacy organizations, licensed clinical social workers (LCSWs), licensed independent clinical social workers (LICSWs), clinical psychologists, board of oncology certified social workers (OSW-Cs), nurses, advanced practice providers (APPs), and one physician. After a day rich in discussion and interaction, the group came together to identify a series of action items that, if enacted, could create impactful change in the delivery of psychosocial care in oncology.

Art Project Showcase: Talk About It

ACCC is proud to showcase this collaborative art project on mental health awareness and psychosocial care in oncology, sponsored by BeiGene, which debuted early this month at the 40th National Oncology Conference in Austin, Texas. Attendees had great fun coloring the mural and interacting with each other on such an important topic.

Cancer Buzz Podcast

More Psychosocial Care in Oncology Resources