JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Cancer patients experience changing supportive care needs throughout the disease journey. However, existing Patient Journey Map (PJM) mainly describe experiences at specific stages, with limited attention to supportive care needs across the cancer trajectory and opportunities for care improvement. This qualitative meta-synthesis aimed to synthesize evidence on supportive care needs across the cancer patient journey from a cross-cancer perspective and develop an integrated PJM framework to capture unmet needs and experiences across disease stages and identify opportunities for supportive care.

Objective:

This qualitative meta-synthesis aimed to synthesize evidence on supportive care needs across the cancer patient journey from a cross-cancer perspective and to develop an integrated Patient Journey Map (PJM) framework that illustrates changes in patients’ unmet needs and experiences across disease stages and identifies opportunities for supportive care.

Methods:

A systematic search was conducted across eight electronic databases from database inception to March 2026. Qualitative studies using a PJM approach to explore the supportive care needs and experiences of cancer patients were included. Methodological quality was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Critical Appraisal Checklist for Qualitative Research, and confidence in the synthesized findings was evaluated using the ConQual approach. Findings were synthesized using the JBI meta-aggregation methodology.

Results:

Thirteen studies involving patients with diverse cancer types were included. Three synthesized findings were identified: (1) Challenges at the cognitive and psychosocial levels during the diagnostic phase; (2) Physical and psychological distress and unmet supportive needs under multiple treatment burdens; (3) Rehabilitation remodeling and ongoing challenges during long-term adaptation in the follow-up period. In addition, three cross-cutting trajectories: information needs and financial burden, identity reconstruction, and fear of recurrence, were identified as evolving needs that spanned the entire cancer journey. Based on these findings, an integrated cancer PJM framework was developed to characterize changes in supportive care needs, identify stage-specific intervention opportunities, and support the delivery of person-centered care across the cancer journey.

Conclusions:

This review provides a comprehensive understanding of stage-specific changes in supportive care needs across the cancer patient journey and extends existing PJM research by proposing an integrated cross-cancer PJM framework with potential transferability. The findings offer a theoretical foundation for designing stage-specific, patient-centered supportive care interventions, improving care coordination across the cancer journey, and informing future research on the development and implementation of an integrated cancer PJM framework. Clinical Trial: Not applicable