Nutrition and pelvic cancer - V1.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Nutrition and pelvic cancer patients: a mixed-method study to explore dietary habits, nutritional awareness and patient experiences.
IRAS ID
224647
Contact name
Georgios Saltaouras
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Oxford Brookes University
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 6 months, 28 days
Research summary
Almost half the people diagnosed with cancer survive their disease for ten years or more, according to Cancer Research UK. With the increasing number of cancer survivors, there is a need to optimise care and consider a number of lifestyle factors, including dietary requirements. Patients with pelvic cancer often experience negative effects of treatment, such as bowel dysfunction, which can persist for months and years beyond the end of treatment and can impact on their diet. Treatment may also lead to possible deficiencies in important nutrients that can have long term health implications e.g. fatigue. Patients have concerns about their diet and what they should be eating to minimise the risk of recurrence and help them to stay healthy. However, a recent report from the National Institute for Health Research suggests that many patients with cancer do not receive dietary advice from their healthcare professionals and that for those who do, the advice received is often considered confusing. The delivery of quality, standardised nutritional care could help to improve the effectiveness of treatments, increase quality of life and reduce the risk of recurrence.
This cross-sectional study aims to explore pelvic cancer patients’ dietary habits as well as their awareness and experiences in relation to their diet during and after radiotherapy treatment. This ethics application refers to one aspect of the study; the perspectives and experiences of patients who currently receive treatment and perspectives of health professionals. The patients' views will be assessed through a survey and telephone interviews and the health professionals' views through telephone or face-to-face interviews.
Overall, the findings from this study will provide a clear description of patient experiences and will highlight unmet needs relating to diet and nutrition. This will inform the development of patient-focused nutrition interventions and care services.REC name
East of Scotland Research Ethics Service REC 2
REC reference
17/ES/0112
Date of REC Opinion
18 Aug 2017
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion