Information and communication needs in lung cancer: A qualitative analysis of survivors’, caregivers’ and healthcare professionals’ perspectives

Adam Daly

Adam Daly received the Breakthrough Cancer Summer Scholarship, enabling him to conduct research under the supervision of Dr. Simon Dunne at Dublin City University during the summer.

Information and communication needs are particularly important in lung cancer (LC) survivorship due to the severity of the physical symptoms, psychological issues, and stigma associated with the condition. The current study proposes to explore these needs across the cancer trajectory, understand whether or not they are currently being met in the Irish healthcare system, and identify any barriers to effective communication between healthcare professionals and LC survivors.

The study will draw upon data collected by my proposed supervisor from two previous projects involving interviews with 13 LC survivors, 9 informal LC caregivers, and 19 healthcare professionals. I will purposefully examine the transcripts of these interviews to identify patterns relating to the information and communication needs of LC survivors.

Finally, drawing on my supervisors’ contacts, I will work directly with LC survivors to ensure that the findings are relevant to LC survivors and help identify appropriate dissemination targets beyond academia. Understanding and identifying unmet and met information and communication needs of LC survivors in Ireland can enable future research to establish targets for training programmes to address these needs.