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. 2020 Jan 13:14:1000.
doi: 10.3332/ecancer.2020.1000. eCollection 2020.

The clinical-care focused psychological interview (CLiC): a structured tool for the assessment of cancer patients' needs

Paola Arnaboldi  1   2 , Serena Oliveri  3   4 , Laura Vergani  3   4 , Giulia Marton  3   4 , Paolo Guiddi  4 , Derna Busacchio  4 , Florence Didier  4 , Gabriella Pravettoni  3   4
Affiliations

The clinical-care focused psychological interview (CLiC): a structured tool for the assessment of cancer patients' needs

Paola Arnaboldi et al. Ecancermedicalscience. .

Abstract

Integrating the psychosocial perspective in oncology is warranted. Here, we introduce a structured psychological intervention, the clinical-care focused psychological interview (CLiC), to address patients' needs in the relationship with health professionals, clinical pathway and decision-making process. The perceived utility and feasibility of the CLiC were evaluated in a preliminary sample of 30 patients who were candidates to undergo a radical cystectomy at the European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy. Patients reported a very high satisfaction with the interview, because it prepared them for their upcoming surgery by gathering more information about their clinical pathway and allowed them to discover the information they still needed. 30% stated that CLiC helped them to reorganise their thoughts and 36.7% understood the role of psychological intervention in the clinical pathway. Only 20% considered the CLiC useful in helping to build their relationship with the clinical staff. Before an invasive surgery such as radical cystectomy, patients' need for information regarding the upcoming surgery seems to prevail. Knowing the future consequences and adjusting toward the disease could be paramount for patients in facing uncertainty and they might feel that creating a relationship with physicians could be a secondary issue. However, our data show that a structured psychological intervention such as the CLiC interview can collect important information for patients and healthcare professionals to develop real patient-centred care.

Keywords: health psychology; liaison psychology; patient-centred care; psycho-oncology; psychological intervention.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship or the publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. Aspects selected by patients concerning the perceived utility of CLiC.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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