Aiming for survival: a qualitative single case study of support for family members across the care process in outpatient colorectal cancer care.

BACKGROUND

At times of cancer, also family members may need support from healthcare professionals. For support to be relevant it needs to be tailored to a person's needs. Tailored support is recognized as support co-created through an intangible interaction between the supporter and the supported. Despite this, studies primarily focus on the supporter (healthcare professionals) or the supported (family members). As a result, the co-created dimension is lost. Therefore, the purpose was to describe and compare family members´ supportive care needs with support from cancer nurses across the care process in outpatient colorectal cancer care.

METHODS

This study is designed as a qualitative single case study with two embedded units: family members and Contact Nurses. Data consisted of transcribed semi-structured interviews from 23 family members and 21 Contact Nurses. Both within and across units, analyses were undertaken using conventional qualitative content analysis. Reporting adheres to the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research checklist.

RESULTS

Analysis generated a main category: Aiming for survival illustrating the common goal of the two units and its implications for support for family members in routine colorectal cancer care. Three subcategories describe family members´ supportive care needs in relation to Contact Nurses´ support for family members across the colorectal cancer care process: (1) The diagnostic phase: Narrowed sight in treatment preparation; (2) The treatment phase: Foregrounding family caregiving while backgrounding family support; and (3) The surveillance phase: An enduring cancer experience despite being considered a co-survivor.

CONCLUSIONS

Support tailored to family members' supportive care needs should derive from the family members' cancer experiences and include strategies for bringing their needs to light. This could possibly be achieved by strengthening the collaboration between contact nurses and clinical social workers. In addition, family members require preparation for and support during their entire cancer trajectory to enable a healthy family recovery post-treatment. In addition, they need guidance on where and whom to turn to at each stage of the care process.