A Qualitative Study on Discharge Planning Needs for Cancer Patients

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the unmet needs experienced by patients discharged after cancer surgery in order to develop a systematic discharge plan. Methods: In-depth interviews were conducted on 20 patients within one year after major cancer surgery in Korea. Data were collected from August 19 to September 26, 2019, and the interview data were analyzed by Qualitative Content Analysis using the MAXQDA 2018 software to derive categories and subcategories of the study. Results: The needs for discharge planning for cancer patients consisted of four categories (physical needs, informational needs, mental health needs, social needs) and seven subcategories. Conclusion: To meet the unmet needs of cancer patients for discharge planning, proper support and services at a hospital, and at a community and national level should be in place. The categories and subcategories formulated through this study can be used as basic data for the development of a standard evaluation form and interventions when planning cancer patient discharge.