Research on the construction of a skill model of lung cancer caregivers based on grounded theory

To explore the theoretical framework of lung cancer caregivers’ skill model and lay a foundation for the follow-up practical research. Based on the grounded theory, a total of 23 participants (16 lung cancer caregivers and 7 health personnel of the oncology department) in the oncology department of a tertiary hospital in Shenzhen from April to May 2024 were recruited through purposive sampling for semi-structured interviews. The data were analyzed by coding and constant comparison. Six categories of the theme ‘care ability’ and 46 free nodes under it were extracted. The basic ability included ‘knowledge, skills’ as the prerequisite for care ability, and the expansion ability included ‘personal quality, the caregiver’s own physical and mental health, utilization of family and community resources, continuity of care’ as additional dimensions for care ability, which jointly contributed to the outcome of care. The lung cancer caregiver skill model developed in this study should be considered a preliminary, context-specific conceptual framework. Given the single-center design and the relatively small qualitative sample, it provides exploratory theoretical and practical guidance for improving the care ability of lung cancer caregivers and requires further validation in larger, multi-center, and cross-cultural studies.