<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<sec><h3>Introduction</h3>
<p>Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death overall, with 1.5 years life expectancy and minimal therapeutic progress in the last decades. Despite the burden it causes, there is little research on the needs of this specific population. This study aimed to explore healthcare professionals’ views on providing care and patients’ unsatisfied needs.</p>
</sec>
<sec><h3>Methods</h3>
<p>This qualitative descriptive study was carried out at a cancer hospital in Northern Greece. A total of 12 participants (6 physicians and 6 nurses), treating patients with pancreatic cancer undergoing chemotherapy, were recruited through purposive sampling and underwent face-to-face semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed through the thematic analysis method in NVivo12 software.</p>
</sec>
<sec><h3>Results</h3>
<p>The analysis highlighted two themes: “needs of patients with pancreatic cancer” consisted of 6 subthemes (“daily activities”, “symptoms management”, “psychological support”, “information needs”, “multidisciplinary care” and “end-of-life care”) and “needs of healthcare professionals” had 3 subthemes (“psychological support”, “education” and “organizational support”). Several symptoms are identified and affect the daily activities of these patients, and psychological support is important for the majority of them, even at the time of diagnosis. The participants express dissatisfaction with the absence of palliative care structures and services and stated that an interdisciplinary approach would improve the quality of care.</p>
</sec>
<sec><h3>Conclusions</h3>
<p>Healthcare professionals report a wide range of unsatisfied needs of patients with pancreatic cancer, with the majority expressing their concerns about the complete lack of patient support in the last stages of their lives.</p>
</sec>
</abstract>

Introduction
Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death overall, with 1.5 years life expectancy and minimal therapeutic progress in the last decades. Despite the burden it causes, there is little research on the needs of this specific population. This study aimed to explore healthcare professionals’ views on providing care and patients’ unsatisfied needs.

Methods
This qualitative descriptive study was carried out at a cancer hospital in Northern Greece. A total of 12 participants (6 physicians and 6 nurses), treating patients with pancreatic cancer undergoing chemotherapy, were recruited through purposive sampling and underwent face-to-face semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed through the thematic analysis method in NVivo12 software.

Results
The analysis highlighted two themes: “needs of patients with pancreatic cancer” consisted of 6 subthemes (“daily activities”, “symptoms management”, “psychological support”, “information needs”, “multidisciplinary care” and “end-of-life care”) and “needs of healthcare professionals” had 3 subthemes (“psychological support”, “education” and “organizational support”). Several symptoms are identified and affect the daily activities of these patients, and psychological support is important for the majority of them, even at the time of diagnosis. The participants express dissatisfaction with the absence of palliative care structures and services and stated that an interdisciplinary approach would improve the quality of care.

Conclusions
Healthcare professionals report a wide range of unsatisfied needs of patients with pancreatic cancer, with the majority expressing their concerns about the complete lack of patient support in the last stages of their lives.

Unmet Needs in the Process of Chemotherapy Provision in Pancreatic Cancer Patients from the Healthcare Provider Perspective: A Phenomenological Study in Greece

Laboratory of Primary Health Care, General Practice and Health Services Research - Medical School

Slovenian Journal of Public Health

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Neizpolnjene Potrebe v Procesu Zagotavljanja Kemoterapije Pri Bolnikih z Rakom Trebušne Slinavke z Vidika Izvajalcev Zdravstvenega Varstva: Fenomenološka Študija v Grčiji

Introduction
Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death overall, with 1.5 years life expectancy and minimal therapeutic progress in the last...

Topic heading	Issues discussed
Opening	Study purpose
Exploration of topics	Confidentiality
	Data management
	General thoughts about pancreatic cancer
	Symptoms
	Daily activities
	Psychology
	Support
	Healthcare professional-patient communication
	Quality of care
	Coordination and organization of care
Ending	Summarisation (from the interviewer)
	Feedback on completeness
	Further comments

Number of Participants/Range	6 Physicians	6 Nurses
Gender
Men	3	0
Women	3	6
Age (Range: years)	30–45	45–53
Education
Bachelor (Medical School Vs Nursing School)	5	6
Master	0	0
Doctoral	1	0
Work experience (mean: years)	9	15
Number of treated patients with pancreatic cancer
<100	2	2
100–200	4	3
>200	0	1

Unmet Needs in the Process of Chemotherapy Provision in Pancreatic Cancer Patients from the Healthcare Provider Perspective: A Phenomenological Study in Greece

Article Category: Original scientific article

Published Online: Mar 20, 2024

Page range: 73 - 80

Received: Aug 23, 2023

Accepted: Feb 05, 2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/sjph-2024-0011

Keywords
Pancreatic cancer, End-of-life care, Unmet needs, Holistic care

© 2024 Stella Ploukou et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Figure 3.

Interview topic guide.

Descriptive characteristics of participants.

Unmet Needs in the Process of Chemotherapy Provision in Pancreatic Cancer Patients from the Healthcare Provider Perspective: A Phenomenological Study in Greece

Article Category: Original scientific article

Published Online: Mar 20, 2024

Page range: 73 - 80

Received: Aug 23, 2023

Accepted: Feb 05, 2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/sjph-2024-0011

KeywordsPancreatic cancer, End-of-life care, Unmet needs, Holistic care

© 2024 Stella Ploukou et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Figure 3.

Interview topic guide.

Descriptive characteristics of participants.

Keywords
Pancreatic cancer, End-of-life care, Unmet needs, Holistic care