Experiences and perceptions of social eating for patients living with and beyond head and neck cancer: a qualitative study

Abstract

Purpose Patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) describe eating as more than a physical activity for nutrition and calories. After treatment for HNC, patients report a changed social experience around food, with eating and drinking in front of family and friends depicted as a challenge. However, there is limited research exploring how patients with HNC adapt and cope with social eating difficulties. This study aims to explore patients’ experiences and perceptions of social eating and drinking following treatment for HNC. Methods A qualitative research design using semi-structured interviews was employed to understand the experiences of social eating of patients living with and beyond HNC. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to inductively develop key themes from the data. Results Fourteen interviews were conducted with patients, and two key themes were identified: (1) “Social eating became a conscious process” and (2) “Strategies to maximise social eating participation”. To maximise social eating enjoyment, patients attempted to minimise the attention on their eating function and the fuss created around food. Patients with HNC established psychological and cognitive adaptations to manage expectations and promote positive participation in social eating. Conclusion This paper identifies key barriers limiting or diminishing social eating for patients with HNC; including being self-conscious, lack of understanding from others and functional issues with eating and drinking. This research highlights the need to raise awareness of social eating challenges and for the social dimensions of eating to be addressed through family-centred, supportive holistic interventions implemented early in the patient’s cancer journey.

Sexual health complaints associated with post-treatment gynecological cancer: qualitative research

“…A thematic guide has been developed and iterated to re ect the research objective [22]. Four pilot interviews were conducted with gynecological cancer survivors to check for doubtful or ambiguous content, so few changes were made to improve the interpretation of the questions.…”

“It’s part of our life now”: a qualitative exploration of the social eating experiences of family members of patients living with head and neck cancer

“…This qualitative descriptive study [17] with FMs was part of a broader research project on the experiences of social eating after HNC treatment with three stakeholder groups: patients [10] relatives and healthcare professionals (HCPs). This study is reported according to the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) guidelines [18].…”

“…Inclusion and exclusion criteria were established, displayed in Table 1. FMs were recruited in two ways: (1) patients with HNC who participated in interviews of the corresponding study [10] were asked if they had a FM who would like to participate and (2) alternatively, HNC Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNSs) from three participating healthcare sites in the UK, who were local collaborators for the research, identified potential FMs and sought permission for the researcher (MD) to contact interested participants to extend a research invitation. The study did not require both patients with HNC and FMs to participate.…”

“…For some, this is a diminished or absent social eating experience [6,7], persisting up to and beyond 5 years after HNC treatment [8]. For some patients, this is due to embarrassment or selfconsciousness about how they appear to eat in front of others [9,10]. Eating with others provides a rich and varied experience to one's life [11].…”

“…This can extend to domestic commensality, where patients and FMs within the same household eat separately and report a loss of togetherness [7,14]. Existing post-treatment research focuses on the patient, with few studies investigating the FMs' social eating experiences [7,10,15]. Despite a systematic review of social eating experiences for HNC patients [7] identifying FMs as the key support providers, the existing research provides limited insight into how FMs cope or are supported with the multifaceted activities around social eating such as food adaptions, cooking, organising and planning [16].…”