Background: In 2010 the Canadian Association of Psychosocial Oncology (CAPO) released its revised Standards of Psychosocial Health Services for People Affected by Cancer (2010). The national standards define psychosocial oncology (PSO) as a specialty concerned with the social, psychological, emotional, spiritual, quality-of-life and functional [practical] aspects of cancer, from prevention through bereavement. PSO is a whole-person care approach that recognizes distress as the 6th Vital Sign of cancer care.  Distress should be proactively identified in people affected by cancer followed by an assessment and treatment plan for the management of complex psychosocial issues (Bultz & Johansen, 2011).

The CAPO Standards (2010) were developed to assist cancer facilities, administrators, program leaders and professionals in the delivery of psychosocial health services in Canada by providing a framework for building PSO programs. CAPO has become the “go to” organization in Canada where people make inquiries about the standards and ask clarifying questions for developing PSO programming. A common question posed is about staffing ratios for the disciplines involved in the delivery of PSO care.

Hiring PSO Staffing Framework and Formula:  In 2019 members of the CAPO Clinical Advisory Committee undertook a review of the literature for hiring PSO professionals to find that there were no funding formulas available in Canada. They started with the discipline of Master’s Prepared Social workers (MSWs) working in tertiary cancer centres.  A preliminary framework describing the elements to be considered when hiring PSO professionals was developed with a funding formula focussing on the discipline of social work, the largest discipline for CAPO membership.  The Clinical Advisory Committee members gathered PSO leaders across the country for their input and to reach consensus on each element of the framework that led to the development of a calculator.  Administrators now have the ability to enter administrative data that provides an estimate of MSW positions required for PSO programming in a tertiary cancer centre.

The framework is comprised of ten factors:  (1) Principles of the work environment for the discipline. (2) Scope of practice for the discipline.  (3) Estimation for the prevalence of cancer distress. (4) Defining work hours. (5) Direct vs. indirect patient care. (6) Carryover caseload from one fiscal year to the next. (7) Instrumental concerns vs. counselling and/or psychotherapy. (8) Group work. (9) Social work caseload estimation. (10) Number of New Cancer Cases referred to a Tertiary Cancer Centre.

The work developed thus far focuses on the discipline of social work. However work is underway to adapt the framework for the discipline of psychology.  CAPO is committed to adapt the framework for the various disciplines reflective of the membership. The guideline is meant to be fluid and adapted as more data on PSO staffing ratios and PSO caseloads becomes available across Canada.

Accessing the Framework and Calculator: The Framework and Calculator are available at no cost to all CAPO members. If you are interested in accessing these tools, you can join CAPO here. There are many other advantages to being a CAPO member including opportunities to connect with a vast network of PSO clinicians and administrators across Canada, reduced rates for our annual conference and access to webinars and many different research opportunities. 

VIEW THE 10 POINT FRAMEWORK

ACCESS THE CALCULATOR