Chronic and Life-Threatening Illnesses

Chronic and Life-Threatening Illnesses

The connection between mental health and chronic illness is rarely studied. In this paper, focus is given to this area. The studies analyzed have examined the connection between mental health and cancer, and the main findings indicate that there is a connection between mental health and a chronic illness like cancer. The findings also show that cancer patients are at a much higher risk of having mental illnesses. This study brings to light that people with chronic diseases should be screened for mental illnesses, and treatments for the same be given. The research also uncovers some of the mental illnesses that are common with chronic diseases like depression and anxiety. Therefore, this study intends to prove that there should be increased psychiatric help given to people with chronic illnesses like cancer.

Literature Review

It is essential to understand that mental illnesses do not exist on their own and are caused by other terminal or physical illnesses. In other words, mental illness can sometimes result from other terminal illnesses. These conclusions are made based on the findings from various studies like the study by Van Beek et al. (2021), which undertook a study that focused on the US population with cancer. The study was a literature review where the researchers sought, evaluated, and synthesized peer-reviewed articles from reputable databases like PsycINFO, PubMed, and Embase, which mainly publish journals on medical studies. The central aim of the study was to find out the issues that are known to cause mental illness among cancer patients. They hypothesized that economic losses, the cost of treatment, and general costs that come with cancer are the primary causatives of mental illnesses among this population with terminal illnesses. After their study, their hypothesis was correct, and most importantly, they also observed a positive connection between psychological illness symptoms, psychiatric disorders, and cancer. The increase in psychiatric symptoms corresponded with an increase in search for medical help. In other words, the more cancer patients continued to seek medication for cancer or get treatment, the more they showed signs of mental illnesses. Some of the trends that they observed in this study are that cancer patients were having various mental illnesses as they continued to encounter losses such as loss of their jobs, loss of property, and loss of finances directed towards cancer treatment. Even so, it is worth noting that this study had limitations in the research method used because literature reviews are prone to biases, attrition, and selective outcomes.

A better understanding of how mental illnesses are connected to chronic illnesses like cancer can be seen in a survey by Vehling et al. (2021). A unique aspect of this study is that the researcher compared the population of individuals with cancer with the population of people without cancer. In this study, done in Germany, the researchers examined the likelihood of mental illness among 2141 people with cancer and 4883 people from the general population without cancer. The outcomes of this study showed that there is a higher chance that people with cancer will develop a mental illness and a lower chance that people from the general public will develop mental illness. This study is an indicator that when people have terminal illnesses, they are at a higher risk of mental illnesses compared to the risks among the general public without cancer. Venkataraman et al. (2022) also support these findings in their descriptive study that expanded this topic by revealing the different kinds of mental illnesses common among cancer patients. Some of the common mental illnesses among terminally ill patients that were discovered by Venkataramu et al. (2022) are anxiety disorders, sexual disorders, sleep disorders, adjustment disorders, spectrum and depressive disorders. This study further confirms that terminally ill patients, in this case, those with cancer, are likely to have one or more psychiatric illnesses. Wang et al. (2020) also contributed to this topic by undertaking a study on cancer patients and their mental state during the COVID-19 pandemic. In their study, they found out that most of the patients in the population they studied had depression, followed by those with anxiety disorders, then those with hostility symptoms, and then those with PTSD. Even though this study shows that mental illnesses are an issue among terminally ill patients, one would argue that the pandemic might have played a role in initiating mental illnesses among this population.

From the studied literature, there is enough evidence to show that mental illnesses and chronic illnesses are connected. Kim et al. (2020), however, clarify in their study that a mental illness does not increase a person’s chances of having cancer or any terminal illness. However, cancer can increase a person’s chances of having a mental illness. Kim et al. (2020) also noted something essential to remember: cancer patients with mental health illnesses have a lower survival rate compared to cancer patients without any mental illnesses. Mallet et al. (2018) undertook a study on the connection between mental illnesses and cancer. The study employed a survey method, where 36309 adults were sampled as participants. It showed that cancer patients were at a higher risk of mental diseases, which also helped to explain the relationship between the two. This study, however, did not give a piece of direct information on whether the sampled population was cancer patients with mental health issues.

Discussion and Conclusion

The evidence collected from the above literature is an indication that mental healthcare as a field should consider encouraging campaigns on screening for mental illnesses among patients with cancer and those with other chronic illnesses. Also, mental healthcare professionals may coordinate with other healthcare professionals to make it mandatory for terminally ill patients to be screened for mental health. People with cancer and other terminal illnesses may likely suffer mental health challenges without knowing it or even without having the desire to seek help. One should remember that this group of people is already overwhelmed with the terminal illness that they are going through. Even so, for various reasons like the lack of finances, they may not seek medical treatment for mental health. They are likely to give priority to the chronic illness that they believe is putting their life at risk. It is important to note, as indicated above, that one of the challenges they face, which also causes mental illnesses, is the financial pressure that accompanies chronic illnesses, especially cancer. Therefore, seeking help for mental illnesses may be the least of their priorities. It is, therefore, the role of mental health professionals to use this information as a reminder that they should be at the forefront of pushing for screening for mental illnesses among this population.

These studies also show the importance of collaboration between healthcare professionals to give patients quality care for excellent outcomes. The need for collaborative healthcare is also clearly highlighted—healthcare professionals should ensure that when a patient is diagnosed with a chronic disease or is screened for cancer, they involve mental health experts as part of the treatment plan. From the studies, one can see that cancer places one at a higher risk of mental illness. Therefore, it is also essential that wholesome treatment should include psychotherapy for chronically ill patients. Additionally, the studies have noted that finances are among the primary issues that cancer patients deal with. Therefore, mental illnesses can be screened and treated as a part of the treatment for the patient’s chronic illnesses without having any extra charges.

In conclusion, there is a significant connection between chronic illnesses and mental illnesses. It is important to note that mental illnesses do not cause chronic illnesses, but chronic illnesses place one at risk of getting mental illnesses. Accordingly, mental illness must be taken as a critical issue among patients with terminal illnesses. Increased screening and medication should be given. As part of making these patients safe and offering them holistic care, screening for and treating mental health should be done for free for cancer patients and other people with other chronic illnesses.

References

Kim, H., Kim, K., & Kim, Y. H. (2022). Associations between mental illness and cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences, 26(14), 4997–5007. https://doi.org/10.26355/eurrev_202207_29286

Mallet, J., Huillard, O., Goldwasser, F., Dubertret, C., & Strat, Y. L. (2018). Mental disorders associated with a recent cancer diagnosis: Results from a nationally representative survey. European Journal of Cancer, 105, 10–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejca.2018.09.038

Van Beek, F. E., Wijnhoven, L. M. A., Holtmaat, K., Custers, J. A. E., Prins, J. B., Verdonck-de Leeuw, I. M., & Jansen, F. (2021). Psychological problems among cancer patients in relation to healthcare and societal costs: A systematic review. Psycho-Oncology, 30(11), 1801–1835. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.5753

Vehling, S., Mehnert‐Theuerkauf, A., Philipp, R., Härter, M., Kraywinkel, K., Kuhnert, R., & Koch, U. (2021). Prevalence of mental disorders in patients with cancer compared to matched controls – Secondary analysis of two nationally representative surveys. Acta Oncologica, 61(1), 7–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/0284186x.2021.1992008

Venkataramu, V., Ghotra, H., & Chaturvedi, S. K. (2022). Management of psychiatric disorders in patients with cancer. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 64(8), 458. https://doi.org/10.4103/indianjpsychiatry.indianjpsychiatry_15_22

Wang, Y., Duan, Z., Ma, Z., Mao, Y., Li, X., Wilson, A., Qin, H., Ou, J., Peng, K., Zhou, F., Li, C., Liu, Z., & Chen, R. (2020). Epidemiology of mental health problems among patients with cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic. Translational Psychiatry, 10(1), 263. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-020-00950-y

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Instructions
In Week 3 you conducted a literature review using the course competencies as a guide in choosing the articles. For this week you will take that information and incorporate it into a final paper. The paper is not just the literature review; it is a culmination of what you have learned over the course. As in Week 3 use the course competencies as a guide to developing your paper.

Chronic and Life-Threatening Illnesses

The major theories of health psychology.
Stress on and health of an individual.
Stress due to the developmental stage.
Models of coping and their varied uses according to context (e.g., home, work, and geography).
Current trends are steadily on the rise in the United States (e.g., diabetes, obesity, and eating disorders).
Chronic and life-threatening illnesses (e.g., cardiovascular disease, cancer, and HIV/AIDS).
Contributions of typical and alternative treatments.
The link between the mind and the body with regard to protective and vulnerability factors.
Your paper should adhere to the following guidelines: