Profile and predictors of global distress: Can the DT guide nursing practice in prostate cancer?

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: This study examines the ability of the distress thermometer to accurately identify patients with higher symptoms, unmet needs and psychological morbidity. METHODS: Baseline data collected as part of a randomized controlled trial evaluating a nurse-led supportive care intervention for men with prostate cancer commencing radiotherapy at a specialist cancer hospital in Melbourne, Australia. Measures assessed global distress (DT), anxious and depressive symptomatology (HADS), prostate-cancer specific quality of life (EPIC-26), unmet supportive care needs (SCNS-SF34R) and cancer treatment-related concerns (CATS). Following descriptive and correlational analysis, hierarchical multiple r..