The health care experiences of people with head and neck cancer: A scoping review

Background: Understanding health care experience in head and neck cancer (HNC) is becoming increasingly important due to changes in the disease profile, survivorship, and a greater appreciation of patient health care experience as an important outcome measure. People with HNC encounter many different types of health care professionals and health care touchpoints. Method: Through systematic database searching, this scoping review of qualitative English-language studies describes the self-reported care experiences of those with HNC across the health care continuum, and describes the current state of the literature. Results: Overall, the 95 studies identified were heterogeneous and investigated a broad range of topics. Trends across studies showed research centered on hospital-based care, conducted in developed countries, with more studies on feeding than other aspects of care. Generic qualitative research frameworks, with individual interviews, were the preferred method of data collection. Conclusion: Despite identifying many studies, there are significant gaps in our understanding of the HNC patient experience.