Nutritional management needs of postoperative patients with esophageal cancer from the perspective of stakeholders:a qualitative study
GUO Wei
LIU Xue
NI Yiqian
CUI Jing
Abstract：Objective:To deeply analyze the shifts in nutritional management needs among stakeholder groups following esophageal cancer surgery and provide a reference for improving nutritional management programs for postoperative esophageal cancer patients.Methods:Using purposeful sampling,a total of 28 participants,including esophageal cancer patients,caregivers,and healthcare professionals from the cardiothoracic surgery department of a tertiary grade A hospital in Shanghai,were selected for semi-structured interviews from October 2022 to May 2023.The Colaizzi 7-step analysis method was applied to analyze the data.Results:The interview data were organized and refined into three themes:phased changes in nutritional needs(discharge preparation phase,home enteral nutrition phase,dietary adjustment phase,and adaptation phase),explicit needs(enteral feeding operations,enteral feeding route maintenance,management of discomforting symptoms,dietary knowledge,and consultation difficulties),and implicit needs(multidisciplinary collaboration,timing of dietary transitions,awareness of malnutrition monitoring,and returning to normal life).Conclusion:The nutritional needs of patients and caregivers following radical esophageal cancer surgery exhibit phased characteristics.Future researchers can conduct in-depth longitudinal studies to explore the trajectory of changes in nutritional needs among patients and caregivers following esophageal cancer surgery.
Keywords：esophageal cancernutritional requirementsnursing managementstakeholdersqualitative study
Publication Date：2025-03-09
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：7( 768-774 )