Autistic experiences of breast cancer: an interpretative phenomenological analysis.

IF 2 3区心理学 Q2 PSYCHOLOGY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY

Psychology & Health Pub Date : 2026-08-20 DOI:10.1080/08870446.2026.2716038

Char Goodwin, Sebastian C K Shaw, Eleanor Jane Turner, Ginny Russell, Mary Doherty, Manuela Barreto

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Barriers to healthcare exist for autistic people but are under explored in relation to cancer care. Previous research into autistic experiences have focused on other people's (healthcare professional (HCP) or family members) perspectives but there is a lack of research into autistic experiences of cancer care. This qualitative study used interpretative phenomenological analysis to explore autistic experiences of breast cancer based on interview data from ten participants. Four themes are discussed in this paper, 1) interactions with HCPs, 2) overwhelming hospital processes, 3) understanding autism: self and HCPs perceptions, and 4) long-lasting impact of a breast cancer diagnosis. Findings suggest that autism-specific barriers to cancer care exist and comprise three domains, firstly that the barriers are attributed to autistic characteristics and experiences, secondly that they are persistent throughout cancer care and finally, that there is a cumulative exposure to repeated barriers. These findings provide insight to HCPs that without acknowledgement and understanding of barriers to cancer care, reducing and removing them will not be possible.

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乳腺癌自闭经验：解释性现象学分析。

自闭症患者在医疗保健方面存在障碍，但与癌症护理有关的障碍尚未得到探讨。先前对自闭症经历的研究主要集中在其他人（医疗保健专业人员（HCP）或家庭成员）的观点上，但缺乏对癌症护理中自闭症经历的研究。本研究采用解释性现象学分析方法，对10名乳腺癌患者的自闭经历进行分析。本文讨论了四个主题，1)与HCPs的相互作用，2)压倒性的医院流程，3)理解自闭症：自我和HCPs的看法，以及4)乳腺癌诊断的长期影响。研究结果表明，自闭症特有的癌症护理障碍存在，包括三个领域，首先，这些障碍归因于自闭症的特征和经历，其次，它们在整个癌症护理过程中持续存在，最后，有一个累积的暴露于重复的障碍。这些发现为HCPs提供了见解，即如果不承认和理解癌症治疗的障碍，就不可能减少和消除这些障碍。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Psychology & Health Multiple-

CiteScore

7.30

自引率

3.00%

发文量

期刊介绍： Psychology & Health promotes the study and application of psychological approaches to health and illness. The contents include work on psychological aspects of physical illness, treatment processes and recovery; psychosocial factors in the aetiology of physical illnesses; health attitudes and behaviour, including prevention; the individual-health care system interface particularly communication and psychologically-based interventions. The journal publishes original research, and accepts not only papers describing rigorous empirical work, including meta-analyses, but also those outlining new psychological approaches and interventions in health-related fields.