Rethinking the Meaning of "Wellness" for a Person with Cancer: A Qualitative Study to Explore What Elements Constitute "Wellness"

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Nixon, Jodie
Chan, Raymond
McKinnell, Emma
Ward, Elizabeth
Pinkham, Elizabeth
Wishart, Laurelie
Miller, Elizabeth
Brown, Bena
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2021
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Abstract

Objective: This study explored what people with cancer and their family members define as wellness, and what they perceive to be the needs to support wellness during the cancer experience. Methods: This study utilized qualitative focus groups underpinned by an interpretative descriptive design. Participants included people with a cancer diagnosis having completed/currently undergoing cancer treatment, and/or family/friends. Participants were invited to share their experience and perceptions of cancer wellness, which was then mapped in relation to Hettler's six dimensions of wellness. Results: Twenty-six participants (16 people with cancer, ten family/friends) were involved in the process. All six dimensions of wellness were reported by the groups with 19 descriptive content categories that related to these domains. The data revealed that people with cancer and family/friends have individual and diverse meanings of wellness. Participants offered suggestions for strategies to promote wellness relating to the environment and supportive care interventions. Conclusions: People with cancer and their families experience wellness individually. Cancer wellness models should consider the personal nature of wellness in relation to the six domains of wellness when developing wellness programs, including health professional access, an environment that supports wellness, the provision and access to reliable information, and support the key needs of being physically active and financial security.

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Asia-Pacific Journal of Oncology Nursing

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8

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4

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© The Authors 2021. This is an open access journal, and articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as appropriate credit is given and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms.

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Subject

Sociology of health

Psychology

Oncology and carcinogenesis

Nursing

Science & Technology

Life Sciences & Biomedicine

Nursing

Barriers

cancer

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Nixon, J; Chan, R; McKinnell, E; Ward, E; Pinkham, E; Wishart, L; Miller, E; Brown, B, Rethinking the Meaning of "Wellness" for a Person with Cancer: A Qualitative Study to Explore What Elements Constitute "Wellness", Asia-Pacific Journal of Oncology Nursing, 2021, 8 (4), pp. 360-368

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