Submission ID 131761
| Issue/Objective | Psychosocial support is an essential component of comprehensive cancer care, yet access to counselling, peer support, and mental health services varies significantly across Canada. Cancer support organizations play a key role in addressing these needs, but the scope, distribution, and equity of their services remain insufficiently documented. This study assesses the availability and accessibility of psychosocial supports nationwide and identifies gaps contributing to regional and structural inequities in cancer care. |
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| Methodology/Approach | An environmental scan was conducted using publicly available data from organizational websites, annual reports, and peer reviewed literature. Information was systematically extracted and categorized by service type, geographic coverage, and target populations. The analysis focused on psychosocial supports-including counselling, peer support programs, and mental health services-to identify patterns of service provision and disparities across urban, rural, and remote settings. |
| Results | The findings indicate that national and regional organizations, such as the Canadian Cancer Society and Wellspring, provide essential emotional and peer support services; however, availability is inconsistent across provinces and territories. Rural and smaller communities experience pronounced gaps in mental health and family support programming. Variability in organizational capacity, service scope, and geographic reach contributes to unequal access. Opportunities for enhanced collaboration and resource sharing among organizations were identified as potential strategies to strengthen service integration and reduce disparities. |
| Discussion/Conclusion | The environmental scan reveals substantial inequities in access to psychosocial cancer support across Canada. Interpretation of findings should consider limitations, including reliance on publicly available and potentially outdated information, inconsistent reporting across organizations, and the absence of direct stakeholder perspectives. Despite these constraints, the study provides a national overview that underscores the need to expand and coordinate psychosocial services to achieve equitable, patient centered cancer care. |
| Presenters and Affiliations | Livingstone Kariuki Cape Breton University Titobiloluwa Olutayo Cape Breton University Steve Pedersen Cancer Care Foundation Abidemi Fasanmi Cape Breton University, Dalhousie University Amandeep Kaur Cape Breton University Parbinder Kaur Cape Breton University Meetkumar Amin Cape Breton University |
