The lack of systematic psychological support for patients with advanced cancer

The gap

Evidence profile

Sourced from the future work and inline gaps and stated research gap and future-work section of the source papers, classified as general, drawn from work published between 1981 and 2026, spanning 5 journals. Those papers have been cited 2 times in total.

Supporting evidence — 5 representative gaps

• Exploring the relationship between death anxiety and mental well-being in patients with gastric cancer (2026) · International Journal of Drug Delivery Technology · doi

  trajectory, the cancer In the future, it is necessary for researchers to utilize longitudinal study methods to explore how death anxiety and mental well, being change over time with i.e. various phases of diagnosis, active treatment, survivorship, and palliative care. These types of studies would reveal more about the time, based relationships and the possible predictive impacts. It is equally important that intervention, based studies be conducted to assess the impact of psychosocial programs that focus on death, related anxiety and enhancement of social support networks. In Indian oncology settings, culturally sensitive interventions that integrate existential therapy, meaning, cantered strategies, or well, structured family, based support models may be extremely useful. Furthermore, research designs using a combination of methods that integrate quantitative evaluations along with qualitative interviews have the potential to uncover a more profound understanding of patients personal experiences of death fear and ways of coping. Through qualitative investigations, one may gain insight into the culturally rooted meanings, spiritual beliefs, and interpersonal relations that significantly influence the psychological adjustment to a major illness. CONCLUSION This research locating the psychological aspects of gastric cancer by studying death anxiety and mental health among the patients of Punjab. The study shows that death anxiety is one of the main psychological concerns in this group and it is associated with poor mental health. Patients with a high level of death anxiety have a very low level of positive psychological functioning which shows that it is important to deal with patients' existential issues in addition to their physical symptoms in the field of oncology especially when dealing with cancer patients. Moreover, the research notes the importance of perceived social support as a helpful psychosocial factor. A greater amount of perceived social support was linked to a healthier mental state and a lessening of death anxiety which means that close and caring interpersonal relationships can help cancer patients to adjust psychologically. Thus, the research evidence highlights the necessity for IJDDT, Volume 16 Issue 40s, 2026 Page 85 Exploring the relationship between death anxiety and mental well-being in patients with gastric cancer the psychosocial assessment and integrating provision of support in the standard cancer care play especially in tertiary oncology clinics. Even though the cross, sectional design does not allow us to make causal inferences, this research presents evidence from a particular state that enhances the limited Indian literature on the death anxiety of gastric cancer patients. Its findings indicate the necessity of regularly screening for death, related distress and the introduction of psychosocial measures geared towards social support enhancement and mental health promotion. Subsequent studies, which follow patients over time and focus on the effects of interventions, could provide more in, depth knowledge about how death anxiety and social support influence psychological reactions throughout the cancer journey. REFERENCES (2015). Meaning- Breitbart, W., Rosenfeld, B., Pessin, H., Applebaum, A., Kulikowski, J., & Lichtenthal, W. G.

  generalfuture work
  Keywords: death anxiety patients cancer support mental social psychological psychosocial well time based oncology gastric health
• The Role of Psychological Defense Mechanisms in Managing Depression, Anxiety, Stress, and Quality of Life Among Cancer Patients (2026) · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · doi

  Family and Caregiver Research Future research may examine: ● Psychological distress among caregivers ● Family adjustment processes ● Relationship between caregiver support and patient well-being This may help develop family-centered psycho-oncology interventions. Cultural and Social Factors Future studies may investigate the influence of cultural beliefs, stigma, religion, spirituality, and social support systems on defense mechanisms and psychological well-being among cancer patients. Development of Psycho-Oncology Programs Future research may focus on the effectiveness of specialized Psycho-oncology programs in improving emotional adjustment, treatment adherence, and quality of life among cancer patients. These factors were not explored in detail in the present study. Therefore, causal relationships between defense mechanisms, psychological distress, and quality of life could not be established.

  generalinline gaps
  Keywords: family future psychological among psycho oncology caregiver distress adjustment support well cultural social factors defense
• Multimedia-assisted narrative intervention for existential distress among patients with advanced cancer: a one-group pre–post study (2026) · Frontiers in Public Health · doi

  The lack of systematic psychological support for patients with advanced cancer. The limited access to specialized psychosocial services in hospice and palliative care settings. The need for effective interventions to address existential distress, death anxiety, and loss of meaning among patients with advanced cancer.

  generalstated research gapevidence 5/5
  Keywords: lack systematic psychological support patients advanced cancer limited
• Psychometric Properties of the Death Anxiety Beliefs and Behaviors Scale: A Methodological Study in Türkiye (2026) · Journal of Religion and Health · doi

  Future studies should investigate the use of the DABBS-T in different cultural and clinical contexts. Future research should examine the relationship between death anxiety and other psychological constructs, such as depression and anxiety. Future studies should develop and validate other measurement tools for assessing death anxiety in various populations.

  generalfuture-work sectionevidence 5/5
  Keywords: future studies investigate use dabbs-t different cultural clinical
• Psychoanalytic psychotherapy and the fear of death (1981) · The American Journal of Psychoanalysis · cited 2× · doi

  The paper suggests that further research is needed to understand the relationship between death anxiety and character traits, - The study highlights the importance of exploring the experience of death anxiety in the transference, - The paper suggests that future research should examine the implications of death anxiety for the practice of psychoanalytic psychotherapy

  generalfuture-work sectionevidence 4/5
  Keywords: paper suggests further research needed understand relationship between

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