[Core Needs for Family Meetings in Oncology Settings From a Stakeholder Perspective]

Objective To identify the core demands of three key stakeholder groups-oncology patients,family caregivers,and healthcare professionals-regarding family meetings in oncology wards based on the tripartite framework of stakeholder theory (ST),family systems theory (FST),and timing it right framework (TIR) and delineate the role positioning and functional transition of oncology ward head nurses,thus providing empirical evidence for developing a head nurse-led multidisciplinary team (MDT) family meeting model. Methods A descriptive qualitative study was conducted.Semi-structured interviews were performed with 31 participants recruited from Peking Cancer Hospital,and the Colaizzi's seven-step method was adopted to extract and refine themes. Results A total of 12 core needs were summarized,including 4 from patients,5 from family caregivers,and 3 from healthcare professionals.Meanwhile,five functional requirements of head nurses were concluded in terms of role reshaping,full-process closed-loop management,and competency development. Conclusions Family meetings in oncology wards need to balance the diverse needs of all stakeholders.Head nurses have evolved from performers into meeting leaders,and their pivotal role is the key to the regular operation of such meetings.