Aim: People living with serious mental illness (SMI), including schizophrenia, affective (bipolar and major depression), personality, and trauma-related conditions, experience profound inequities in cancer outcomes. International research suggests barriers to care occur at the patient, clinician, and system levels. This project aims to explore Australian healthcare professionals' experiences providing care to people with co-occurring cancer and SMI and identify barriers and facilitators of care.
Methods: Qualitative interviews were conducted with Australian healthcare professionals currently working in either mental health or oncology settings who have experience providing care to people with co-occurring cancer and serious mental illness. Verbatim transcripts are currently undergoing thematic analysis using an interpretive description framework.
Results: To date, eight healthcare professionals participated in interviews. All participants currently worked in oncology services (Oncologist n = 3; Nurse n = 2; Psycho-oncologist n = 2; Social Worker n = 1). Recruitment is ongoing and full results will be available at the time of presentation. Preliminary analysis identified three themes: (1) systemic barriers to integrated care, (2) stigma and diagnostic overshadowing, and (3) need for person-centred care. Specific barriers to care included siloed services, overstretched psychiatry and psychology services, a lack of mental health training, and limited referral pathways, while facilitators included flexible, person-centred approaches developed over time through clinical experience. The private sector was described as fragmented yet flexible, while the public sector offered stronger team-based care but was more rigid and resource constrained.
Conclusions: Preliminary findings highlight that caring for people experiencing co-occurring cancer and SMI is complex. Current Australian healthcare systems are not adequately resourced to meet the needs of this vulnerable population. Clear care pathways and mental health training may support more person-centred care. Participation has so far been limited to oncology healthcare professionals, potentially indicating that this issue is more readily recognised in oncology services.