1. Identifying and understanding how people living with a lower-grade glioma engage in self-management.
- Author
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Rimmer B, Balla M, Dutton L, Lewis J, Brown MC, Burns R, Gallagher P, Williams S, Araújo-Soares V, Finch T, Menger F, and Sharp L
- Subjects
- Humans, Female, Male, Middle Aged, Adult, Aged, Young Adult, Brain Neoplasms therapy, Brain Neoplasms psychology, Quality of Life, Neoplasm Grading, Self Care, United Kingdom, Cancer Survivors psychology, Qualitative Research, Glioma therapy, Glioma psychology, Glioma pathology, Self-Management
- Abstract
Purpose: Lower-grade gliomas (LGG) are mostly diagnosed in working-aged adults and rarely cured. LGG patients may face chronic impairments (e.g. fatigue, cognitive deficits). Self-management can improve clinical and psychosocial outcomes, yet how LGG patients self-manage the consequences of their tumour and its treatment is not fully understood. This study, therefore, aimed to identify and understand how LGG patients engage in the self-management of their condition., Methods: A diverse group of 28 LGG patients (age range 22-69 years; male n = 16, female n = 12; mean time since diagnosis = 8.7 years) who had completed primary treatment, were recruited from across the United Kingdom. Semi-structured interviews were conducted. Informed by a self-management strategy framework developed in cancer, directed content analysis identified and categorised self-management types and strategies used by patients., Results: Overall, 20 self-management strategy types, comprising 123 self-management strategies were reported; each participant detailed extensive engagement in self-management. The most used strategy types were 'using support' (n = 28), 'creating a healthy environment' (n = 28), 'meaning making' (n = 27), and 'self-monitoring' (n = 27). The most used strategies were 'accepting the tumour and its consequences' (n = 26), 'receiving support from friends (n = 24) and family' (n = 24), and 'reinterpreting negative consequences' (n = 24)., Conclusions: This study provides a comprehensive understanding of the strategies used by LGG patients to self-manage their health and wellbeing, with a diverse, and substantial number of self-management strategies reported., Implications for Cancer Survivors: The findings will inform the development of a supported self-management intervention for LGG patients, which will be novel for this patient group., (© 2023. The Author(s).)
- Published
- 2024
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