Factors Predicting Unmet Supportive Care Needs among Adult Cancer Patients

Objective: We investigated supportive care needs/preferences and their association with adult cancer patients' overall physical and mental health, and types of social support. Methods: Cross-sectional surveys were completed by 108 adult cancer patients (M_age = 63.76). Results: The physical and daily living domain had the highest levels of unmet needs, followed by psychological needs. Patients with low levels of physical health tended to have high levels of physical needs (p < .001), health system and information needs (p < .05), and patient care and support needs (p < .05). Conclusions: Our results provide evidence for assessing the importance of measuring unmet needs as a critical step in providing high quality care and developing tailored psychosocial interventions to meet the needs of cancer patients.