‘A real fine balancing act’: A secondary qualitative analysis of power imbalance in comorbid cancer and dementia in an outpatient treatment setting

Abstract

AbstractAimsStudies of health services reveal a focus on provision of scheduled care at the expense of patient need, placing the health service in a position of power and the patient as passive recipient. This secondary qualitative analysis of a focused ethnography draws on the Foucauldian concept of power as pervasive and relational, to examine how an imbalance of power is manifested in situations where people with both cancer and dementia are being treated for cancer.DesignSecondary qualitative analysis of a focused ethnographic study.Data SourcesIn the original study, qualitative data were gathered from observation and interviews with people with cancer and dementia (n = 2), caregivers (n = 7) and staff (n = 20). The study was conducted in the outpatient departments of two teaching hospitals in England between January 2019 and July 2021. Data from all sources were analysed for this secondary analysis using constant comparison.ResultsThe principal theme was balance, encapsulating the competing priorities involved in delivering cancer treatment. There was tension between maintaining safety and ensuring an individual's right to treatment, and difficulty reconciling the needs of the system with the needs of individuals.ConclusionThe pervasive nature of power can be harnessed to enhance the agency of people with cancer and dementia by incorporating principles of shared decision making.Implications for the Profession and/or Patient CareWe recommend incorporating the principles of personalized care to achieve more equitable power relations, reduce health inequalities and ensure that cancer treatment offered to people with dementia is safe and appropriate.Reporting MethodEQUATOR (COREQ) guidelines have been used for reporting.Patient or Public ContributionPatients and the public were involved in designing the original research questions and the study protocol including documentation such as interview topic guides and participant information sheets.