Patterns of Perspectives on Oncology Healthcare Needs Among Women With Gynecologic Cancer: A Q-Methodology Study.

Abstract

Background: Gynecologic cancer significantly impacts women's healthcare needs; however, these needs are often underexplored from the patients' perspectives.

Objective: To identify and describe the patterns of perspectives on the oncology healthcare needs of women with gynecologic cancer.

Methods: This Q-methodology study was conducted between January and October 2023 using 60 female patients with gynecologic cancer. Thirty-six Q statements were constructed based on the guidelines of the Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment Quality Assurance Measures, and 10 gynecological nursing staff members were interviewed to explore their experiences with current clinical practices in hospitals. The study adhered to SQUIRE 2.0 (Standards for QUality Improvement Reporting Excellence). PQ Method 2.35 software was used to identify different patterns of patients' perspectives.

Results: The final model retained 4 factors, explaining 59% of the variance. These factors emphasized (1) family-centered communication over palliative care information, (2) patient-centered communication over rehabilitation information, (3) psychological and physiological adaptation over receiving information in advance, and (4) treatment and side effect information over palliative care information.

Conclusions: Clustering patients by perspectives can assist healthcare providers in understanding patient expectations. The emerging perspectives highlight the patients' expectations of communication regarding their treatment plans. Palliative care was the least evident healthcare need across the 4 groups of patients.

Implication for practice: The findings capture 4 unique perspectives of patients' expectations with healthcare needs. These insights can inform researchers and practitioners in developing needs-matched healthcare for women with gynecologic cancer.