Attitudes Toward Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies for Cancer-Related Psychosocial Symptoms: A Multi- Stakeholder Analysis

Attitudes Toward Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies for Cancer-Related Psychosocial Symptoms: A Multi- Stakeholder Analysis | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Attitudes Toward Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies for Cancer-Related Psychosocial Symptoms: A Multi- Stakeholder Analysis Haley D.M. Schuman, Julie M. Deleemans, Tina Nguyen, Chantal Savard, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6941009/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted 12 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background Psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) is gaining attention as a potential treatment for cancer-related psychosocial symptoms. While growing evidence highlights its promise, little is known about how different stakeholder groups perceive its use in oncology and palliative care. Objectives This study aimed to assess stakeholder-specific perspectives on PAT, including attitudes, perceived knowledge, agent-specific beliefs, safety and effectiveness, implementation barriers, and interest in training and access. Predictors of positive attitudes were also examined. Methods A national cross-sectional survey was conducted across Canada. Measures included the Attitudes to Psychedelics Questionnaire (APQ), self-rated knowledge, perceived effectiveness and safety of psychedelic agents, implementation barriers, and views on appropriate patient populations. Group comparisons were conducted using Kruskal–Wallis tests, ANOVA, and post hoc analyses; multivariate linear regression identified predictors of attitudes. Results A total of 742 participants were included: cancer patients (PLWC; n = 519), healthcare providers (HCP; n = 187), and policymakers (PM; n = 36). PLWC reported the most favourable attitudes toward PAT, significantly higher than both HCP and PM. Despite their positive views, PLWC self-reported the lowest knowledge. PM reported the highest perceived knowledge but also the greatest safety concerns. Across all groups, psilocybin was viewed as the most effective agent. PLWC and HCP supported PAT use across the cancer continuum, while most PM favoured restricting use to advanced-stage cases. Conclusion Stakeholder perspectives on PAT reveal high interest tempered by role-specific concerns about safety, legitimacy, and readiness. Effective and ethical integration of PAT into oncology will require stakeholder-informed education, regulatory guidance, and attention to contextual implementation needs. Biological sciences/Cancer Biological sciences/Psychology Health sciences/Health care Health sciences/Oncology psychedelic-assisted therapy cancer stakeholder perspectives implementation barriers oncology psilocybin MDMA ketamine Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files ScientificReportsSupplementaryMaterialMultistakeholderAnalysis20Jun2025HS.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 21 Oct, 2025 Reviews received at journal 20 Oct, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 10 Oct, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 10 Oct, 2025 Reviews received at journal 31 Aug, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 15 Aug, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 13 Aug, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 11 Aug, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 11 Aug, 2025 Editor invited by journal 21 Jul, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 18 Jul, 2025 First submitted to journal 20 Jun, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6941009","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":501006850,"identity":"870b91cd-6c9d-4659-b228-805f2bd85dda","order_by":0,"name":"Haley D.M. 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While growing evidence highlights its promise, little is known about how different stakeholder groups perceive its use in oncology and palliative care.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eObjectives\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis study aimed to assess stakeholder-specific perspectives on PAT, including attitudes, perceived knowledge, agent-specific beliefs, safety and effectiveness, implementation barriers, and interest in training and access. Predictors of positive attitudes were also examined.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eMethods\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eA national cross-sectional survey was conducted across Canada. Measures included the Attitudes to Psychedelics Questionnaire (APQ), self-rated knowledge, perceived effectiveness and safety of psychedelic agents, implementation barriers, and views on appropriate patient populations. Group comparisons were conducted using Kruskal\u0026ndash;Wallis tests, ANOVA, and post hoc analyses; multivariate linear regression identified predictors of attitudes.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eResults\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003e A total of 742 participants were included: cancer patients (PLWC; n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;519), healthcare providers (HCP; n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;187), and policymakers (PM; n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;36). PLWC reported the most favourable attitudes toward PAT, significantly higher than both HCP and PM. Despite their positive views, PLWC self-reported the lowest knowledge. PM reported the highest perceived knowledge but also the greatest safety concerns. Across all groups, psilocybin was viewed as the most effective agent. PLWC and HCP supported PAT use across the cancer continuum, while most PM favoured restricting use to advanced-stage cases.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eConclusion\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eStakeholder perspectives on PAT reveal high interest tempered by role-specific concerns about safety, legitimacy, and readiness. Effective and ethical integration of PAT into oncology will require stakeholder-informed education, regulatory guidance, and attention to contextual implementation needs.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Attitudes Toward Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies for Cancer-Related Psychosocial Symptoms: A Multi- Stakeholder Analysis","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-08-19 19:14:35","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6941009/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2025-10-21T20:40:54+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-10-20T15:06:52+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"312732455866555611410710567751938130484","date":"2025-10-10T18:31:24+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"190199092008338365948478570763864731916","date":"2025-10-10T15:44:15+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-08-31T22:46:01+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"282202820467721531814332458676836399642","date":"2025-08-15T13:27:25+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"323006817115682569001596236373485660180","date":"2025-08-14T01:06:13+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-08-12T00:45:59+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-08-12T00:44:02+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2025-07-21T20:33:52+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-07-19T02:04:33+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Scientific Reports","date":"2025-06-20T18:07:53+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"78515e43-9c38-478a-a3cd-10257699c4af","owner":[],"postedDate":"August 19th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"in-revision","subjectAreas":[{"id":53222727,"name":"Biological sciences/Cancer"},{"id":53222728,"name":"Biological sciences/Psychology"},{"id":53222729,"name":"Health sciences/Health care"},{"id":53222730,"name":"Health sciences/Oncology"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-10-21T20:53:13+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-08-19 19:14:35","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-6941009","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-6941009","identity":"rs-6941009","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}