Patient and carer experience of nutrition care throughout and beyond treatment for head and neck cancer: a qualitative longitudinal study

• Published in: Supportive care in cancer Vol. 30; no. 1; pp. 813 - 824
• Main Authors: Hiatt, Joanne S., Young, Adrienne, Brown, Teresa E., Banks, Merrilyn, Bauer, Judith
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 2022; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Analysis; Cancer; Care and treatment; Caregivers; Evidence-based medicine; Head & neck cancer; Head and neck cancer; Head and Neck Neoplasms - therapy; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Nursing; Nursing Research; Nutrition; Nutrition Therapy; Oncology; Oncology, Experimental; Original Article; Pain Medicine; Patients; Qualitative Research; Rehabilitation Medicine; Qualitative research; Head and neck cancer; Nutrition care; Patient and carer experience
• ISSN: 0941-4355; 1433-7339
• DOI: 10.1007/s00520-021-06484-3

Nutrition care plays a critical role in optimising outcomes for patients receiving treatment for head and neck cancer (HNC), with carers playing an important role in supporting patients to maintain nutrition intake. This study explores patient and carer experience of nutrition care from diagnosis of HNC to 1 year post treatment completion to identify areas for improvement of service delivery. A longitudinal qualitative study design was used with a heterogeneous sample of 20 patients and 15 carers of patients undergoing curative intent treatment for HNC. Interviews conducted at four time points provided a total of 117 interview datasets that were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis based on Gadamerian hermeneutic inquiry. Patient and carer experiences were reflected in two primary themes: (1)
the battle to maintain control
and (2)
navigating the road ahead
. This research identifies the need to co-design strategies to improve nutrition care that is inclusive of patients and carers.