People’s Experiences of Psychosocial Support while Living with Lung Cancer

<p><strong>Lung cancer has one of the highest mortality rates worldwide, including in Aotearoa New Zealand. People living with lung cancer often face significant psychosocial challenges, with existing literature highlighting their unmet psychosocial needs, largely influenced by the nature of lung cancer, including its causes and its associated stigma. While previous research has explored the experiences of people living with cancer, there remains a critical gap in understanding the psychosocial support experiences of those with lung cancer, and in Aotearoa New Zealand. This study explores how people living with lung cancer experience psychosocial support, based on their recalled experiences of both formal and informal care. This involved analysing a secondary data set of narrative interviews conducted with 15 people with lung cancer and seven nominated family members or friends. Guided by a social constructionist framework and using reflexive thematic analysis, I identified three key themes related to psychosocial support in formal healthcare and four themes related to support through informal care. Findings suggest that person-centred care and self-advocacy are central to the experience of psychosocial support in formal healthcare. These factors help to ensure that people receive care that aligns with their personal values, sociocultural backgrounds, and needs. However, barriers to person-centred care can exist at both individual and systemic levels, while opportunities for self-advocacy and agency are influenced by social and structural factors. Emotional support was identified as a central, highly valued element of psychosocial support within personal relationships, but something that can be overlooked often. Participants’ experiences illustrated how receiving such support is a privilege, which depends on people and their families’ social, cultural, and health capital and resources. This study highlights the importance of considering sociocultural and economic factors that affect people’s access to and experience of psychosocial support while facing lung cancer.</strong></p>