Healthcare Practitioners' Perceptions of Quality-of-Life Tools in Head and Neck Surgical Oncology: A Qualitative...

Quality of life (QoL) outcomes are becoming increasingly important in the era of patient-centered medicine. This is especially true in head and neck surgical oncology due to the life-altering effects of major head and neck surgery. This study aimed to gain in-depth feedback surrounding the awareness, perceptions, and utilization of QoL tools in head and neck surgical oncology among the multidisciplinary team (MDT).

A qualitative descriptive content analysis of semi-structured interviews from 10 members of the head and neck surgical oncology MDT.

The overarching categories from the interviews were of healthcare practitioners (HCPs) expressing that they thought the assessment of QoL to be important in this patient group and that this was important for clinical practice, patients, and in research. While most respondents assessed QoL, this was largely done on an informal basis, with very few regularly employing formal QoL tools. Various barriers to their use in terms of patient, clinician, and logistical factors were explored.

Overall, this study adds to the literature by providing an important analysis of perceptions of QoL and formal tools in head and neck surgical oncology from the underexplored perspective of HCPs in this MDT. While clinicians across the MDT generally viewed QoL assessment positively, implementation of structured tools remained inconsistent and was influenced by structural barriers. These findings suggest that future efforts should focus on developing feasible, clinically embedded approaches to QoL integration within this context.

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