A recent JRC review of national and regional plans for breast cancer care in 32 European countries, EU and EFTA's member states, has shown that although most of these acknowledge the importance of psychological support for patients, only a third provide concrete measures such as necessary human resources, educational needs for personnel or indicators to measure the level of implementation.
Psycho-oncological support has become increasingly recognised and used as part of breast cancer care services in recent years. According to a recent JRC review of EU and EFTA member states' national/regional cancer plans and certification schemes, the need for psycho-oncological services is widely recognised. However the concrete allocation of resources and personnel to provide these services has not been specifically addressed in most of them.
The JRC scientists reviewed 25 national and 4 regional cancer plans/strategies among 32 researched countries. They found that 28 recognise the need for organised psycho-oncological support (Table 1), and among those only 10 envisage concrete requirements and indicators for good psychosocial care, resources required or educational needs. Spain additionally included specific recommendations for psychological support in breast cancer care in the national cancer plan.
The report stresses the importance of including a unique set of detailed requirements and indicators for psycho-oncological support in European breast cancer care-related policy documents, and assessing them through quality assurance measures, as explained in the accompanying slideshow with commentary.
Psycho-oncologyPsycho-oncology addresses the psychological, social, behavioural, and ethical aspects of cancer. Identification and management of psychosocial needs of the patients, family and caregivers are increasingly considered essential for a person-centred approach to breast cancer care. Psycho-oncological services aim to prevent or reduce the emotional impact of cancer on patients and help to cope with the treatment and uncertainty of the disease’s course.
To improve the overall quality of care, the European Commission Initiative on Breast Cancer (ECIBC), coordinated by the JRC, is developing a voluntary European quality assurance scheme for breast cancer services. This will include a set of evidence-based requirements and indicators for good psychosocial care at the European level to ensure equal treatment for all patients and to increase confidence in the quality of breast cancer services.
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The recent JRC report stresses the importance of including a unique set of detailed requirements and indicators for psycho-oncological support in European breast cancer care-related policy documents.
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