(0715) Psychiatrist Perspectives and Experiences Regarding Treatment for Head and Neck Cancer Survivors

Introduction: In 2022, the American Head and Neck Society provided a head and neck cancer (HNC) survivorship statement emphasizing the role of a care team for HNC survivors, including psychiatrists who help treat depression and anxiety, which are prevalent among survivors. We sought to understand psychiatrist experiences and perspectives on treatment of HNC survivors.

Methods: A survey querying psychiatrists regarding experiences with HNC survivors was distributed via email and social media. Descriptive statistics characterized responses. Chi-square testing was utilized to understand factors associated with perceived effectiveness of treatment and limitations of treatment caused by HNC survivor status.

Results: Among 31 respondents, most (n, %) were age 30-39 (21, 70%), residents (18, 58.1%), and work in outpatient academic medical centers (16, 51.6%). Respondents reported seeing mean 0.9 HNC survivors annually (SD = 0.2). Most frequently observed disorder among HNC survivors was Major Depressive Disorder (11, 57.9%). While most reported exposure to HNC patients in didactics or clinical rotations (24, 77%), a significant portion of psychiatrists reported no exposure to HNC during training (7, 22.6%). No psychiatrist attendings reported continuing medical education regarding care for HNC survivors and 23 (74.2%) reported wanting more education about management of HNC survivors during training. Chi-square testing revealed a significant effect of psychiatrist age on perceived treatment effectiveness (p = 0.02), though level of training (p = 0.264) and number of HNC survivors seen annually (p = 0.804) had no effect on perceived effectiveness. Additionally, psychiatrist age (p = 0.493), level of training (p = 0.688), and number of HNC survivors seen annually (p = 0.804) were not associated with perceived effect of HNC survivorship status on ability to treat mental health disorders.

Conclusions: Preliminary results demonstrate that psychiatrists rarely encounter HNC survivors, emphasizing need for communication and collaboration between otolaryngologists and psychiatrists during treatment of HNC survivors.