Experiences of living with cancer and functional impairment
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Experiences of living with cancer: what are patients’ rehabilitation needs in a palliative setting?
IRAS ID
169301
Contact name
Lisa Robinson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Newcastle upon Tyne NHS Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 8 months, 25 days
Research summary
Advances in medical treatments for cancer have improved vastly over recent years. The issue of survivorship (life for those achieving a cure for their cancer) has been a focus of research during this time. However there are many people living with cancer that cannot be cured and treatments are now available that may prolong their life expectancy for months to years. The impact of living with cancer and the burden of its’ treatment, symptoms and side effects is still relatively unknown in this modern era. In particular, many individuals face difficulty in carrying out day to day activities (functional impairment) and continuing in their usual work, leisure and social roles.
This study is interested in understanding the experiences of people living with a cancer that cannot be cured and affects their functional abilities. By doing this we hope to improve the support provided to people in this situation. In particular support that helps improve or maintain physical function or adapt to new difficulties such as physiotherapy and occupational therapy.
The methods that the study will use are interviews lasting no more than one hour, with a loose structure that allow the participants to discuss the topic openly (semi structured interviews). We hope to gather rich information for individual participants in one to one interviews and compare their responses with other participants. We will be looking for similar experiences which we can use to guide how we provide rehabilitation support services. We will be interviewing participants who are under the care of hospital or community based palliative care teams and are expected to live more than six months. These individuals will be adults who have identified that they have difficulties with their physical function.REC name
London - Surrey Borders Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/LO/0311
Date of REC Opinion
12 Feb 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion