Use of psychosocial services increases after a social worker-mediated intervention in gynecology oncology patients

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the introduction of psychosocial services to gynecologic oncology outpatients by a social worker increases service use.During the initial six weeks (phase I), patients were referred for psychosocial services by clinic staff. During the second six weeks (phase II), a nurse introduced available services to each patient with a brochure. During the final 12 weeks (phase III), a social worker introduced services to each patient. The authors then compared psychosocial service referral rates. The sample included 196 patients. During phase III, the probability of a patient-initiated referral increased 3.4-fold (95 percent confidence interval [CI] [1.1, 10.4], p =. 04) compared with baseline; the probability of any referral rose 2.7-fold (95 percent CI [1.1, 6.3], p =. 03). The mean time to referral decreased from 79.4 days at baseline to 3.9 days during phase III (p <. 001). The phase III intervention was accomplished only in 34 patients (39 percent) because of scheduling conflicts. Of these, eight requested referral, resulting in a 24 percent patient-initiated referral rate after meeting with a social worker. The introduction of psychosocial services by a social worker to gynecologic oncology outpatients increases referral rates and expedites evaluation.