{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,16]],"date-time":"2026-07-16T21:49:35Z","timestamp":1784238575290,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,5,19]],"date-time":"2023-05-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1684454400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Current Oncology"],"abstract":"<jats:p>AIM: In our radiation departments, all patients received psycho-oncological support during RT and during follow-up. Based on the latter, the aim of this retrospective analysis was to evaluate the role of tele-visits and in-person psychological support for cancer patients after RT, and to report a descriptive analysis pointing out the needs of psychosocial intervention in a radiation department during radiation treatment. METHODS: According to our institutional care management, all patients receiving RT were prospectively enrolled to receive charge-free assessment of their cognitive, emotional and physical states and psycho-oncological support during treatment. For the whole population who accepted the psychological support during RT, a descriptive analysis was reported. For all patients who agreed to be followed up by a psycho-oncologist, at the end of RT, a retrospective analysis was conducted to evaluate the differences between tele-consultations (video-call or telephone) and on-site psychological visits. Patients were followed up by on-site psychological visit (Group-OS) or tele-consult (Group-TC) visit. For each group, to evaluate anxiety, depression and distress, the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS), Distress Thermometer and Brief COPE (BC) were used. RESULTS: From July 2019 to June 2022, 1145 cases were evaluated during RT with structured psycho-oncological interviews for a median of 3 sessions (range 2\u20135). During their first psycho-oncological interview, all the 1145 patients experienced the assessment of anxiety, depression and distress levels with the following results: concerning the HADS-A scale, 50% of cases (574 patients) reported a pathological score \u22658; concerning the HADS-D scale, 30% of cases (340 patients) reported a pathological score \u22658, concerning the DT scale, 60% (687 patients) reported a pathological score \u22654. Eighty-two patients were evaluated after RT: 30 in the Group-OS and 52 in the Group-TC. During follow-up, a median of 8 meetings (range 4\u201328) were performed. Comparing psychological data at baseline (beginning of RT) and at the last follow-up, in the entire population, a significant improvement in terms of HADS-A, global HADS and BC was shown (p 0.04; p 0.05; and p 0.0008, respectively). Compared to baseline, statistically significant differences were observed between the two groups in terms of anxiety in favor of on-site visit: Group-OS reported a better anxiety score compared with Group-TC. In each group, a statistical improvement was observed in BC (p 0.01). CONCLUSION: The study revealed optimal compliance to tele-visit psychological support, even if the anxiety could be better controlled when patients were followed up on-site. However, rigorous research on this topic is needed.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/curroncol30050390","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,5,19]],"date-time":"2023-05-19T01:26:41Z","timestamp":1684459601000},"page":"5158-5167","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["The Role of Telemedicine for Psychological Support for Oncological Patients Who Have Received Radiotherapy"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"30","author":[{"given":"Morena","family":"Caliandro","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Radiation Oncology Department, General Regional Hospital F. Miulli, Strada Provinciale 127, Acquaviva delle Fonti, 70021 Bari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Roberta","family":"Carbonara","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Radiation Oncology Department, General Regional Hospital F. Miulli, Strada Provinciale 127, Acquaviva delle Fonti, 70021 Bari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4502-9635","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alessia","family":"Surgo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Radiation Oncology Department, General Regional Hospital F. Miulli, Strada Provinciale 127, Acquaviva delle Fonti, 70021 Bari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Maria Paola","family":"Ciliberti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Radiation Oncology Department, General Regional Hospital F. Miulli, Strada Provinciale 127, Acquaviva delle Fonti, 70021 Bari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fiorella Cristina","family":"Di Guglielmo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Radiation Oncology Department, General Regional Hospital F. Miulli, Strada Provinciale 127, Acquaviva delle Fonti, 70021 Bari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ilaria","family":"Bonaparte","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Radiation Oncology Department, General Regional Hospital F. Miulli, Strada Provinciale 127, Acquaviva delle Fonti, 70021 Bari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Eleonora","family":"Paulicelli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Radiation Oncology Department, General Regional Hospital F. Miulli, Strada Provinciale 127, Acquaviva delle Fonti, 70021 Bari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fabiana","family":"Gregucci","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Radiation Oncology Department, General Regional Hospital F. Miulli, Strada Provinciale 127, Acquaviva delle Fonti, 70021 Bari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Angela","family":"Turchiano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Radiation Oncology Department, General Regional Hospital F. Miulli, Strada Provinciale 127, Acquaviva delle Fonti, 70021 Bari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4201-5852","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alba","family":"Fiorentino","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Radiation Oncology Department, General Regional Hospital F. Miulli, Strada Provinciale 127, Acquaviva delle Fonti, 70021 Bari, Italy"},{"name":"Department of Medicine and Surgery, LUM University, Casamassima, 70010 Bari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,5,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Szcze\u015bniak, D., G\u0142adka, A., Misiak, B., Cyran, A., and Rymaszewska, J. (2021). The SARS-CoV-2 and mental health: From biological mechanisms to social consequences. Prog. Neuropsychopharmacol. Biol. Psychiatry, 104.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pnpbp.2020.110046"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"57","DOI":"10.1186\/s12992-020-00589-w","article-title":"Prevalence of stress, anxiety, depression among the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"16","author":"Salari","year":"2020","journal-title":"Glob. 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