Experience and Needs of Nasopharyngeal Cancer Patients Participating in Rehabilitation Exercise: A Qualitative Study
Abstract：Objective: To explore the experience and needs of nasopharyngeal cancer patients participating in rehabilitation exercise, providing reference for constructing an intervention program for rehabilitation exercise in these patients. Methods: Fifteen nasopharyngeal cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy in Yongzhou Central Hospital, Hunan Province in March 2024 were selected as research subjects. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and the Capability, Opportunity, and Motivation-Behavior (COM-B) model was used as a framework. Thematic analysis was applied to summarize and extract themes. Results: Three themes were identified: insufficient motivation for participation in rehabilitation exercise (lack of cognition, negative emotions, and physical symptoms); inadequate capability (lack of knowledge and skills related to rehabilitation exercise, poor self-management ability); and seeking opportunities (emotional support and encouragement, objective constraints, personalized needs, and continuity of care support). Conclusion: The participation of nasopharyngeal cancer patients in rehabilitation exercise is influenced by multiple factors. Medical staff should strengthen health education, correct cognitive biases about rehabilitation exercise, pay attention to patients' physical and mental health needs, enhance patients' self-efficacy in self-management, build a good social support system, and give full play to the role of the Internet in continuity of care services, to provide personalized services and meet patients' needs, thereby improving the compliance of rehabilitation exercise among nasopharyngeal cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy and maximizing the rehabilitation outcomes.
Keywords：Nasopharyngeal CancerRadiotherapyRehabilitationExerciseCapability, Opportunity, and Motivation-Behavior ModelQualitative Study
Publication Date：2025-01-27
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：6( 11-16 )