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Meal planning values impacted by the cancer experience in families with school-aged survivors—a qualitative exploration and recommendations for intervention development

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Supportive Care in Cancer Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Increased cardiovascular disease and second cancer risks among childhood cancer survivors (CCS) makes them and their families important audiences for nutrition intervention. Family meals and home cooking practices have been associated with improved diet and health, but there is a gap in the literature on understanding these behaviors and their motivating values among CCS families. This study qualitatively explores family meal values and behaviors in a sample of CCS parent-child dyads.

Methods

This observational and qualitative study recruited a convenience sample of 11 parent-CCS dyads. Data collection included audio and video recording of food preparation events in participant homes, which were analyzed with an inductive coding technique to examine meal-related values in CCS families.

Results

Analyses revealed four major categories of meal values. Effort, including time and difficulty, as well as budget, healthfulness, and family preferences emerged as recurrent values impacting meal preparation. These values were impacted by the cancer experience upon diagnosis, during treatment, and into survivorship.

Conclusions

A better understanding of CCS family meal planning values, the impact of the cancer experience on these values, and the inclusion of CCS in food preparation reveals potential intervention targets, facilitators, and barriers for future interventions to improve dietary behaviors among CCS.

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Acknowledgments

This project has been supported by the James and Lois Archer Foundation, the Center for Energy Balance in Cancer Prevention and Survivorship, the Duncan Family Institute for Cancer Prevention and Risk Assessment.

Funding

This project has been financially supported by the National Cancer Institute of the National Health Institute (R25CA057730) and Cancer Center Support Grant (P30-CA16672), and a Career Development Fellowship from the NHMRC of Australia (APP1143767).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics Research, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 7777 Knight Rd, Houston, TX, 77054, USA

    Margaret Raber & Joya Chandra

  2. Department of Integrative Medicine, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Karla Crawford

  3. Department of Pediatrics, USDA/ARS Children’s Nutrition Research Center, Baylor College of Medicine, 1100 Bates St, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Tom Baranowski

  4. Department of Epidemiology University of Texas School of Public Health, 1200 Pressler Dr, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Shreela V. Sharma

  5. Department of Community Health Practice, University of Texas School of Public Health, 1200 Pressler Dr, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Vanessa Schick

  6. Department of Health Promotion and Behavioral Science, University of Texas School of Public Health, 7000 Fannin, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Christine Markham

  7. Department of Pediatrics Patient Care, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Michael Roth

  8. School of Women’s and Children’s Health, University of New South Wales, Level 1 South, Sydney Children’s Hospital, High Street Randwick, Sydney, NSW 2031, Australia

    Claire E. Wakefield

Authors
  1. Margaret Raber
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  2. Karla Crawford
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  3. Tom Baranowski
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  4. Shreela V. Sharma
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  5. Vanessa Schick
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  6. Christine Markham
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  7. Michael Roth
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  8. Claire E. Wakefield
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  9. Joya Chandra
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Margaret Raber.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval

This study was approved by the institutional review board of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (PA16-0995).

Statement of informed consent

All adult participants completed an informed consent and minor participants completed child assent. Participants were compensated for their time with $50 gift cards.

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Raber, M., Crawford, K., Baranowski, T. et al. Meal planning values impacted by the cancer experience in families with school-aged survivors—a qualitative exploration and recommendations for intervention development. Support Care Cancer 28, 1305–1313 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-019-04928-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-019-04928-5

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