TITLE:
A Qualitative Study of the Healthcare Experience of Older Neurosurgical Cancer Patients in the Context of Intelligent Healthcare
AUTHORS:
Chunju Xiao, Lan Bai, Xiaoqun Chen, Lingyan He
KEYWORDS:
Older Patients, Cancer, Neurosurgical, Intelligent Healthcare, Healthcare-Seeking Experience, Qualitative Research
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Cancer Therapy,
Vol.17 No.6,
June
24,
2026
ABSTRACT: Objective: To gain an in-depth understanding of the healthcare-seeking experiences, difficulties, and needs and expectations of elderly neurosurgical cancer patients in the context of intelligent healthcare, and to provide evidence for targeted optimization of care-seeking processes for this population. Methods: Using purposive sampling, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 8 elderly patients who sought care at SYSUCC from June to December in 2025. A phenomenological approach was used to code and categorize the data and to refine themes. Results: Under the context of intelligent healthcare, three themes and seven subthemes were identified among elderly patients seeking care: perceived difficulties in seeking care (perceived safety difficulties, perceived usefulness difficulties, perceived comfort difficulties), difficulties in seeking care amid digital transformation (support for intelligent and digital healthcare, poor adaptability to intelligent services), and difficulties related to self and family support (difficulties associated with multimorbidity, care-seeking difficulties due to weak family support). Conclusion: In this cohort of older neurosurgical cancer patients, multiple difficulties were identified in the context of intelligent healthcare. These findings suggest that this population requires societal attention and support. Healthcare professionals may consider implementing targeted interventions and strengthening support systems to improve their care-seeking experience. Future studies are needed to explore whether similar findings apply to other cancer types.