The History of Psychosocial Screening Among Cancer Patients

Abstract

Over the past ten years, the concept of psychosocial screening has received a great deal of attention. Guidelines, recommendations, and standards have been developed to encourage or require that all patients be screened for their distress at the time of diagnosis or when patients commence care in a cancer center for the first time. However, the concept of psychosocial screening has long history in the cancer literature.

KEYWORDS:

• psychosocial screening
• distress
• standards of care