Background and Aim
Despite higher CVD risk in people with cancer compared to cancer-free controls, many do not receive adequate CVD risk assessment or management. We aimed to examine people with cancer’s perceptions of CVD risk and its management.
Methods
People with cancer were recruited by medical oncologists at a South Australian tertiary hospital participated in qualitative individual interviews lasting between 10 and 46 minutes. One researcher facilitated all semi-structured sessions in-person or via teleconference. All sessions were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. We organized responses into codes and themes using NVivo software, and utilized a reflexive thematic approach to analyse data
Results
Fourteen people with cancer participated. The analysis identified three major themes 1) CVD risk in cancer awareness and information needs, 2) barriers to CVD care delivery, and 3) self-management support in CVD risk assessment and reduction. majority participants were not aware of CVD risk in cancer. Most respondents felt information provision should be flexible according to individual preferences for, e.g., amount of information and timing of delivery. Patients identified barriers to CVD delivery including a prioritization of cancer over CVD risk reduction, financial concerns and psychological barriers. participants expressed diverse preferences for self-management support (e.g. recognising CVD signs/symptoms, access to healthcare professionals, risk-reduction behaviour guidance (e.g. physical activity and smoking).
Conclusions
People with cancer perceive CVD care to be important and want to be supported to self-manage aspects of their CVD care using a considered, individualized and flexible approach. These findings will inform the development of a new CVD care intervention for people affected by cancer.