Patient-Important Needs and Goals Related to Nutrition Interventions during Cancer Treatment.

Publication/Presentation Date

1-1-2023

Abstract

Patients with cancer often experience nutrition-related challenges for which they are subsequently connected with nutritional support. Yet to date there are no validated tools to assess whether nutrition interventions sufficiently address patients' needs. A vital step toward developing a tool is to identify primary patient-important goals related to receiving nutrition support during cancer care. To that end, we interviewed patients and clinicians to identify nutrition-related needs and goals of patients undergoing cancer treatment. We interviewed 31 patients undergoing cancer treatment and 17 clinicians at the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA. Two coders analyzed transcripts using a conventional qualitative content analysis approach. Patients and clinicians both identified weight maintenance, improved food satisfaction and intake, and improved quality of life metrics - such as reduced emotional and financial stress - as top nutrition-related goals. Participants also highlighted the importance of patients receiving food they like and having control over what they eat when designing optimal nutrition interventions. These findings will be used in future work to create a patient-centered assessment tool designed to capture a range of patient goals related to nutrition interventions.

Volume

75

Issue

4

First Page

1143

Last Page

1150

ISSN

1532-7914

Disciplines

Medicine and Health Sciences

PubMedID

36999772

Department(s)

Hematology-Medical Oncology Division

Document Type

Article

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