Barriers and Facilitators to Nutritional Risk Management in Cancer Patients from the Perspective of Nurses: A Qualitative Study

Background: The global incidence of cancer is increasing, and in China, about 32% to 43% of cancer patients are at nutritional risk, with less than 25% receiving nutritional risk management. Managing nutritional risk in cancer patients presents significant challenges, making it necessary to understand the factors that facilitate and hinder this process. Aim: This qualitative study, based on the Self-Disclosure Model and using grounded theory, aims to explore the barriers and facilitators in the nutritional risk management of cancer patients from the perspective of Chinese nurses to improve nutritional risk management in this population. Methods: In this study, semi-structured interviews were employed. A qualitative interview team was formed, conducting two group interviews and fifteen one-on-one interviews. Results: The analysis identified several facilitating factors for managing nutritional risk in cancer patients: high motivation for learning among nurses, a sense of achievement from successfully managing patients, and a focus on the construction of nutrition subspecialties in nursing. Five barriers were identified: issues with nutritional risk management tools, lack of knowledge among nurses regarding nutritional risk management, inadequate related management systems within hospitals, non-intelligent information systems, and negative feedback from doctors or patients during the communication process. Conclusion: While nurses are concerned about nutritional risk management in cancer patients, obstacles remain. Nursing managers can improve the rate of nutritional risk management in cancer patients by focusing on the construction of nutrition nursing specialties, ensuring institutional support, enhancing system intelligence, and expanding the influence of specialized nutrition nurses. This study was not registered with a research trial registry.