摘要：The purpose of this paper is to present two studies. Study 1 is a literature review onpsychological needs of malignant mesothelioma (MM) patients. Study 2 is aimed at assessinghow patients and caregiver experience the diagnosis. In study 1 we performed asystematic literature review; while in study 2 we performed a thematic analysis of semistructuredinterviews. Study 1 detected 5 psychological constructs (i.e. 1. Psychologicalimpact of MM diagnosis; 2. Emotional aspects connected to the occupational context;3. Coping strategies; 4. Treatment experiences; 5. Quality of life). Study 2 identified 4themes (i.e. 1. Physical symptoms, affects, and defenses; 2. Living in or near a NationalPriority Contaminated Site; 3. “Nothing is like it was”; 4. “What will become of us?”). Theliterature review suggests a specific profile of suffering for MM, a result strengthened bythe qualitative study on semi-structured interviews. The present paper highlights the lackof specific measures and clinical interventions for this distinctive population.
关键词：clinical research; malignant mesothelioma; emotional distress; clinical psychology; qualitative research
