This study aimed to explore the experiences of dysphagia and rehabilitation care needs of head and neck cancer patients across the pre-, intra-, and post-radiotherapy phases. The findings provide essential evidence for developing individualized rehabilitation care protocols for dysphagia. A qualitative descriptive study was conducted at the Radiation Oncology Department of a cancer hospital in China from December 2024 to March 2025. Purposive sampling was used to select head and neck cancer patients at different radiotherapy phases. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to capture their experiences of dysphagia and rehabilitation care needs. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed qualitatively using a content analysis approach. Four key themes of patients’ experiences of dysphagia and rehabilitation care needs were identified: (1) emotional experiences across peri-radiotherapy phases, (2) dynamic swallowing perceptions across peri-radiotherapy phases, (3) radiotherapy phase–specific critical distress points, and (4) evolving rehabilitation care needs in dysphagia management. Situated within the Chinese context, this study explores dysphagia experiences and rehabilitation care needs of head and neck cancer patients across the pre-, intra-, and post-radiotherapy phases. The findings reveal that these experiences and needs are diverse and differentiated. Healthcare providers should develop stage-specific rehabilitation care protocols for dysphagia that are tailored to the experiences and needs of head and neck cancer patients at different phases of radiotherapy.
Yang et al. (Sat,) studied this question.
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