Background. Rehabilitation is known to have many positive effects for cancer patients. However, patients with head, neck and lung cancer generally have a low uptake of rehabilitation. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore patient and healthcare professionals' perspectives on rehabilitation uptake after treatment for head, neck and lung cancer in a municipal setting. Methods. Semi-structured formal interviews were conducted with patients and healthcare professionals across hospital and rehabilitation settings in northern Denmark. All interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using reflexive thematic content analysis. Results. There are multiple factors underlying the low uptake of rehabilitation for head, neck and lung cancer patients, ranging from systemic barriers, to matters of health (i)literacy and a perceived lack of interest, which upon further reflection often masks a deeper existential and/or physical vulnerability. Discussion. Our findings indicate that while many of the barriers to rehabilitation uptake arise in the transitions between care sectors, there is also a need to rethink how rehabilitation fits into the cancer care trajectory at hospital level. Current praxis leaves many opportunities for inequalities in rehabilitation access and uptake to arise.
Balkin et al. (Mon,) studied this question.