An evidence-based provincial framework for a psychosocial oncology program in Nova Scotia.

Having cancer is very stressful for patients and their families. It affects all aspects of people's lives and often for an extended period. Psychosocial oncology services support and assist patients and families in dealing with the stress of cancer by providing emotional, social, spiritual and practical help. A lot of different professions can provide help based on the patient's specific need: social workers, psychologists, cancer patient navigators, spiritual care providers, wellness coaches, dieticians etc. Nova Scotians are now able to access more cancer care services closer to home because the Cancer Care Program received money to hire more healthcare workers for eight community-based oncology centres. Psychosocial oncology services are among the services that will be provided in those community oncology centres. Because psychosocial oncology services were previously mostly available in Halifax, the Cancer Care Program wants to develop a plan and structure how to integrate and organize the way that psychosocial oncology services are being provided across the province to make sure that every patient and their family who needs support in dealing with cancer has access to the same kinds of supports and services. We will look at how other provinces and countries are doing this and speak to a few people in cancer centres, who are doing it well. We will also ask people who work for the Cancer Program in Nova Scotia how they think psychosocial oncology should be organized across the province. We will collect all that information and then get a group of people who are involved with caring for people with cancer, such as cancer doctors, psychologists, social workers etc. to look at it and based on this evidence they will make suggestions of how to best organize psychosocial oncology so that every person who is diagnosed with cancer in Nova Scotia receives the very best help and support when they need it to assist them with the stress of having cancer.