City Research Online

Abstract

Fertility preservation (FP) discussions prior to breast cancer treatment are an important aspect of care and considered routine practice. However, studies show that women diagnosed with breast cancer have unmet needs about FP discussions. To better understand them, a qualitative study was conducted to explore the perceptions of healthcare professionals (HCPs) regarding FP for young women diagnosed with breast cancer. Semi-structured interviews were performed in a University teaching hospital to explore the knowledge, attitudes and reported behaviours of HCPs (oncologists, breast surgeons, breast care specialist nurses and fertility specialists) who offer FP discussions (n = 20). Data were analysed thematically. HCPs in this study were aware of the need to discuss FP with patients but were not confident in their knowledge and were unsure of their role in the discussion. Patient characteristics of younger age, nulliparity and ethnicity appeared to influence if and how HCPs discussed FP, in addition to the personal attitudes and knowledge of HCPs. Specialist nurses were identified as having an important role in FP discussions. Raising awareness of the essential components of FP discussions by a checklist or algorithm may help in addressing ambiguity and promoting consistent FP discussions by HCPs.

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis GroupThis is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/),which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon inany way.HUMAN FERTILITY2022, VOL. 25, NO. 5, 903–911https://doi.org/10.1080/14647273.2021.1933219
Publisher Keywords:	Fertility, preservation, discussions, women, breast cancer, Qualitative
Subjects:	R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC0254 Neoplasms. Tumors. Oncology (including Cancer) R Medicine > RG Gynecology and obstetrics
Departments:	Presidents's Portfolio
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Administrator

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