“You don’t know what’s wrong with you”: An exploration of cancer-related experiences in people with an intellectual disability
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Abstract
Objective: Few empirical studies have explored cancer-related experiences of people with an intellectual disability (ID), despite rising cancer incidence in this population. The present research aims to better understand the experiences of this population from multiple perspectives, generating theory and further research questions. Methods: Six people with ID and cancer, alongside twelve participants from their supportive network (including: family, social and healthcare professionals), were interviewed; transcripts were analysed using grounded theory. Results: People with ID were often overlooked within cancer consultations, excluded from conversations about their care and treatment-related decisions. Caregivers (family and paid) were relied upon to facilitate communication, understanding and supplement healthcare professional knowledge. Caregivers’ attempts to protect the patient from distress harmed communication further; our interviewees suggest that increased involvement and empowerment mediated cancer-related distress. Where healthcare professionals possessed good patient-centred skills, and additional support was offered, people with ID were more likely to engage meaningfully in their cancer-related experience. Conclusions: Interestingly, emergent concepts were consistent with general psycho-oncology literature, however incidence and severity of difficulty was substantially greater in this sample. This disparity warrants further exploration, with a need for intervention research to develop effective ways of supporting healthcare professionals in enhancing patient-centred skills with this population. In the clinical setting, patient involvement in healthcare decisions (despite problems associated with co-morbidity) is imperative to optimise engagement.Citation
Flynn, S., Hulbert-Williams, N. J., Hulbert-Williams, L., & Bramwell, R. (2016). “You don't know what's wrong with you”: an exploration of cancer-related experiences in people with an intellectual disability. Psycho-Oncology, 25(10), 1198-1205. doi: 10.1002/pon.4211Publisher
WileyJournal
Psycho-OncologyDOI
10.1002/pon.4211Additional Links
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pon.4211/abstractType
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This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Flynn, S., Hulbert-Williams, N., Hulbert-Williams, L., & Bramwell, R. (2016). “You don’t know what’s wrong with you”: An exploration of cancer-related experiences in people with an intellectual disability. Psycho-Oncology. DOI: 10.1002/pon.4211, which has been published in final form at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pon.4211/abstract. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-ArchivingEISSN
1099-1611ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1002/pon.4211
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Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/