Oncofertility care: A qualitative study to understand personal perspectives and barriers in the multidisciplinary breast care team in Taiwan

BACKGROUND: Previous studies indicate significant gaps exist in current practices and perceptions of oncofertility care. OBJECTIVES: We aim to understand the clinical experience regarding oncofertility care among health providers in a multidisciplinary breast care team. METHODS: A qualitative, descriptive study was conducted. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with 16 health care providers who worked in a hospital in Taipei. Verbatim transcriptions were analyzed using constant analysis methods. RESULTS: Health care providers’ experiences regarding fertility care for reproductive-age women with breast cancer were divided into two themes: personal perspectives and barriers. Personal perspectives consisted of six subthemes including empathizing with the patient’s suffering during the diagnosis and treatment, safety as a prerequisite, satisfying the women’s needs, respecting the women’s choice, questioning women’s ability to raise children, and returning to family life. There were also six subthemes under barriers. These subthemes were poor communication among the multidisciplinary team, lack of initial screening, insufficient support in the women’s families, treatment considerations, lack of evidence-based information regarding oncofertility, and non-follow-up protocol. CONCLUSION: Nurses should evaluate the fertility needs of women with cancer and identify potential gaps during oncofertility care. Education strategies and tactics should be improved in order to overcome difficulties arising from health care providers’ personal perspectives and barriers to the provision of optimal fertility care in women with cancer.