A Qualitative Study on the Needs of Women with Metastatic Breast Cancer

Few studies have investigated the needs of patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC), and none have been conducted in Italy. Three categories of needs have been identified from the literature: information, support, and practical resources. The present study aims to achieve an in-depth understandi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of cancer education 2022-10, Vol.37 (5), p.1322-1331
Main Authors: Alfieri, Sara, Brunelli, Cinzia, Capri, Giuseppe, Caraceni, Augusto, Bianchi, Giulia V., Borreani, Claudia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attitude Change
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedicine
Breast cancer
Cancer
Cancer Research
Metastasis
Pharmacology/Toxicology
Qualitative research
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Few studies have investigated the needs of patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC), and none have been conducted in Italy. Three categories of needs have been identified from the literature: information, support, and practical resources. The present study aims to achieve an in-depth understanding of the patients’ needs related to the MBC care pathway. In-depth interviews were conducted and analyzed by thematic analysis. The participants were 9 women with MBC (age range 36–74) who were enrolled at the Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionalde dei tumori, in Milan. The analysis enabled us to identify four themes (which reflect the needs of the participants), each divided into numerous sub-themes: (1) the need for clinical recognition, (2) the need for more attention from healthcare professionals, (3) the need for more and better services to be available at the hospital, (4) the need for specific public health policies. Since the metastatic phase of breast cancer seems to elicit additional, specific needs and multi-level management, changes in attitudes and multidisciplinary practices should be tested in order to ascertain how these needs can be met.
ISSN:0885-8195
1543-0154
DOI:10.1007/s13187-020-01954-4