Exploring the expectations of patients with advanced cancer receiving palliative care services: a qualitative study in mainland China

Purpose To explore the expectations of patients with advanced cancer receiving palliative care services in mainland China, and to provide empirical evidence for constructing localized, culturally congruent palliative care service models integrated with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) characteristics. Methods A descriptive phenomenological qualitative design was adopted, and purposive sampling was used to select 11 patients with advanced cancer in the palliative care ward of a tertiary general hospital in Zhejiang Province for semi-structured in-depth interviews. Colaizzi’s seven-step analytical method was applied for thematic analysis, and multiple strategies were used to ensure the trustworthiness of the study. Results Four main themes and 13 sub-themes regarding end-stage patients’ expectations of palliative care services were identified in this study: expectations for palliative care service settings; expectations for the competence of palliative care providers; expectations for palliative care-related support systems; and expectations for TCM-integrated palliative care services. Conclusion Patients with advanced cancer have diverse and individualized expectations for palliative care services, with a prominent demand for TCM-integrated care. Healthcare providers and policymakers should develop localized palliative care service models based on patients’ expectations, improve the tripartite integrated care system of hospitals, communities and families, and integrate TCM concepts and techniques into palliative care to meet the end-of-life needs of patients under the Chinese sociocultural context.