Disparities in Mental Health Screening and Support

ALTHEA - tAckLing menTal Health Cancer Patients and Their Families: Digital Solutions for bEtter cAre Work Package 3: Disparities in Mental Health Screening and Support

Status

Recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Observational

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT07691281

Acronym

ALTHEA

Enrollment

2000

Registered

2026-07-08

Start date

2026-09-01

Completion date

2026-12-30

Last updated

2026-09-10

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Cancer, Mental Health

Keywords

mental health disparities, cancer care, psychoncology

Brief summary

To develop and administer online surveys to cancer patients and their families across diverse regions within the EU to detect possible disparities in their access to mental health screening and psychological-cognitive support

Detailed description

In order to detect possible disparities in the access to mental health screening and psychological-cognitive support, cancer patients and survivors will be involved. A minimum of 1000 patients will be surveyed to gather insights on their experiences with mental health screening, the support they received, and perceived barriers and facilitators in accessing mental health services. Similarly, caregivers and/or family members of cancer patients will be invited to participate in this study. At least 1000 family members and caregivers who support cancer patients will also be surveyed to understand their mental health needs and the challenges they encounter in seeking support for themselves and for patients. For these surveys, individuals at all cancer stages who have been diagnosed with cancer, are currently undergoing treatment or have survived cancer will be invited to participate. Participants must reside in the EU, have Internet access and can use a technological device for survey participation. Considering the pediatric population, the following inclusion criteria will be adopted: * Pediatric cancer patients 12-17 years, responding on behalf of themselves; * caregivers of pediatric cancer patients (0-11 y), responding on behalf of their child and themselves; * caregivers of pediatric cancer patients (12+ y), responding only on behalf of themselves. Regarding caregivers and family members, the investigators will include individuals that are aged 18 or older who currently provide, or have provided, care, psychosocial and physical support for a cancer patient in the EU. As with patients, caregivers and family members should also have access to the internet and at least one technological device.

Interventions

None listed

Study design

Observational model

OTHER

Time perspective

PROSPECTIVE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

for patients: * residence in EU * internet access * access to a technological device for survey participation * individuals at all cancer stages who have been diagnosed with cancer, are currently undergoing treatment or have survived cancer * ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document Inclusion Criteria for family members and caregivers: * residence in EU * internet access * access to a technological device for survey participation * individuals that are aged 18 or older who currently provide, or have provided, care, psychosocial and physical support for a cancer patient in the EU * ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document

Exclusion criteria

* NA

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Disparities in access to mental health	through study completion, an average of 1 year	Number of participants who experienced disparities in the access to and provision of mental health services, how frequently EU countries have encountered these disparities, and detection of the principal barriers and facilitators through thematic analysis

Countries

Italy

Contacts

CONTACTGabriella Pravettoni, PhD

Gabriella.Pravettoni@ieo.it+39 0257489207

CONTACTIlaria Durosini, PhD

ilaria.durosini@ieo.it+39 0257489207

PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORGabriella Pravettoni, PhD

European Institute of Oncology

Outcome results