Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 May 12;24(1):517.
doi: 10.1186/s12912-025-03153-2.

Barriers and facilitators to prehabilitation of elderly patients with early lung cancer from the perspective of different clinical professionals: a qualitative study

Rui Zhang #  1   2   3 , Mei Wu #  4 , Yun Cheng  2 , Liting Zhao  4 , Yamin Xu  5 , Lu Xia  6
Affiliations

Barriers and facilitators to prehabilitation of elderly patients with early lung cancer from the perspective of different clinical professionals: a qualitative study

Rui Zhang et al. BMC Nurs. .

Abstract

Background: Understanding the barriers and facilitators of prehabilitation in elderly patients with early-stage lung cancer is of significant importance. This study aimed to elucidate these barriers and facilitators from the perspectives of different clinical professionals.

Methods: A qualitative descriptive study was undertaken. Semi-structured interviews with clinical professionals, using purposive sampling and content analysis were conducted in March to May 2023 to summarize and refine the key themes.

Results: From the perspective of clinical professionals, the facilitators of prehabilitation have been categorized into five major themes. These include the recognized importance of prehabilitation, the positive attitude of clinical professionals, the support of leadership, the willingness of the majority of patients to accept prehabilitation, and the initial implementation of an enhanced recovery after surgery - multidisciplinary team (ERAS-MDT) approach. Conversely, clinical professionals identify several barriers to prehabilitation, which are grouped into seven themes. These impediments encompass a lack of knowledge regarding clinical practice, insufficient preoperative preparation time, the absence of an aging-friendly clinical practice scheme, an immature multidisciplinary cooperation mechanism, a lack of explicit regulations, inadequate emergency safeguards, and a shortage of specialized professionals. Practice strategies for promoting prehabilitation in elderly patients with early lung cancer include development of evidence summaries, develop healthcare training materials, develop patient health education brochures, clarify the division of labor of ERAS-MDT, improve patient safety and monitoring measures, optimize practice flow and obtain funding support.

Conclusion: To enhance the feasibility and clinical relevance of prehabilitation, clinical professionals should consider establishing a multidisciplinary information consulting team, developing a comprehensive prehabilitation program, and reinforcing the support system prior to surgery.

Keywords: Barrier; Elderly; Facilitator; Lung neoplasm; Practice strategy; Prehabilitation; Qualitative research.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: In this study, all methods were performed in accordance with the relevant guidelines and regulations. The study has been reviewed and approved by the ethics committee of Huadong Hospital affiliated to Fudan University (approval number: 20230021). And written informed consents had been obtained from all the participants. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Leiter A, Veluswamy RR, Wisnivesky JP. The global burden of lung cancer: current status and future trends. Nat Rev Clin Oncol. 2023;20(9):624–39. - PubMed
    1. Kratzer TB, Bandi P, Freedman ND, Smith RA, Travis WD, Jemal A, Siegel RL. Lung cancer statistics, 2023. Cancer. 2024;130(8):1330–48. - PubMed
    1. Siegel RL, Giaquinto AN, Jemal A. Cancer statistics, 2024. CA Cancer J Clin. 2024;74(1):12–49. - PubMed
    1. Diao X, Guo C, Jin Y, Li B, Gao X, Du X, Chen Z, Jo M, Zeng Y, Ding C et al. Cancer situation in China: an analysis based on the global epidemiological data released in 2024. Cancer Commun (Lond) 2024. - PMC - PubMed
    1. He S, Xia C, Li H, Cao M, Yang F, Yan X, Zhang S, Teng Y, Li Q, Chen W. Cancer profiles in China and comparisons with the USA: a comprehensive analysis in the incidence, mortality, survival, staging, and attribution to risk factors. Sci China Life Sci. 2024;67(1):122–31. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources