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Holistic needs assessment in advanced, intensively treated multiple myeloma patients

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Abstract

Purpose

It is recommended that patients with multiple myeloma should be assessed for unmet holistic needs at key times in their disease trajectory. The aim of this exploratory study was to characterise the holistic needs of advanced, intensively treated multiple myeloma using a structured assessment tool.

Methods

Patients with multiple myeloma who had undergone a haematopoietic stem cell transplantation and subsequent treatment for at least one episode of progressive disease but were in stable plateau phase were included in the study. Patients’ holistic needs were assessed using the self-reporting tool, Sheffield Profile for Assessment and Referral for Care (SPARC).

Results

Thirty-two patients with a median age of 60 years at assessment and a median of 5.5 years from diagnosis were recruited. Using the SPARC, half of the patients reported tiredness as ‘quite a bit/very much,’ while one third complained that daytime somnolence and insomnia were ‘quite a bit/very much.’ Forty-four percent of patients reported pain. One third of patients were bothered and distressed by the side effects from their treatment and were worried about long-term effects of their treatment. Thirty-one percent of patients felt that the effect of their condition had an impact on their sexual life, and 40 % were worried about the effect that their illness was having on their family or other people.

Conclusion

This is the first study to use a self-reported holistic needs assessment tool in multiple myeloma. A multidimensional structured questionnaire like the SPARC could provide a useful first step in the effective delivery of supportive and palliative care for patients with multiple myeloma.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the staff of the Clinical Research Facility for administration and nursing support for this study. A Richard Townley Research Grant from the Myeloma UK supported this study.

Conflict of interest

There are no conflicts of interest from any authors.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Academic Unit of Supportive Care, Department of Oncology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK

    E. G. Boland & S. H. Ahmedzai

  2. Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, Hull, UK

    E. G. Boland

  3. Hull York Medical School, University of Hull, Hull, UK

    J. W. Boland

  4. Department of Haematology, Sheffield Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Sheffield, UK

    Y. Ezaydi & J. A. Snowden

  5. Weston Park Hospital, Sheffield Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Sheffield, UK

    D. M. Greenfield

  6. Late Effects Group, Sheffield, UK

    D. M. Greenfield, S. H. Ahmedzai & J. A. Snowden

Authors
  1. E. G. Boland
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  2. J. W. Boland
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  3. Y. Ezaydi
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  4. D. M. Greenfield
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  5. S. H. Ahmedzai
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  6. J. A. Snowden
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to E. G. Boland.

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Boland, E.G., Boland, J.W., Ezaydi, Y. et al. Holistic needs assessment in advanced, intensively treated multiple myeloma patients. Support Care Cancer 22, 2615–2620 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-014-2231-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-014-2231-2

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