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ABSTRACT
Objectives
The objective of this study was to engage national experts in geriatric psychiatry and oncology in qualitative interviews to develop consensus regarding how older adult cancer survivors (OACS) experience depressive symptoms, and how best to assess OACs for depression.
Methods
Expert clinicians in geriatric oncology disciplines were interviewed about approaches to assessing depression in OACs. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed, and conducted until thematic saturation was achieved. Thematic Content Analysis was utilized to identify key themes.
Results
Experts (N = 8) were board certified geriatric psychiatrists and oncologists with specialization in geriatric medicine. Two conceptual domains were identified: Key indicators of depression in OACs (e.g. anhedonia; loss of meaning and purpose; loneliness and social withdrawal) and unique considerations for depression assessment in OACs (e.g. alternative phrasing to “depression,” disentangling mood and cancer or treatment-related side effects).
Conclusions
The approaches identified tended to depart from traditional diagnostic criteria for depression.
Clinical implications
Results provide additional insight into the limitations of existing depression measures for OACs. The themes and practices identified in the present study suggest that a revised measure of depression for OACs may be useful. Future research will continue to shed light on best practices for depression assessment in OACs.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Author contributions
All authors contributed to study concepts, study design, data analysis, manuscript preparation, manuscript editing, and manuscript review. Christian Nelson contributed to data acquisition. Rebecca Saracino, Elyse Shuk, and Christian Nelson have contributed to quality control of data and algorithms and statistical analysis. All authors have seen and approved the final manuscript.