Experiences and needs regarding information on nutrition and nutritional supplements among oncology healthcare professionals: an explanatory sequential mixed-methods study.
Nagtegaal I, van Rijssen L, et al. • Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer • 2026
HCPs express a need for enhanced knowledge and greater consistency in nutritional care during cancer care, with particular gaps in knowledge about nutritional supplements and a need for clearer role divisions and interprofessional collaboration.
Key Findings
Results
Healthcare professionals reported confidence in general nutrition knowledge but were less familiar with nutritional supplements.
32 HCPs completed the online questionnaire at a university medical center oncology department
9 HCPs participated in follow-up semi-structured interviews for deeper qualitative insights
The gap between general nutrition confidence and supplement knowledge was a consistent finding across both quantitative and qualitative components
This pattern emerged as one of five identified themes: knowledge of nutrition and nutritional supplements
Results
Five overarching themes were identified regarding HCP experiences and needs in nutritional care for cancer patients.
The five themes were: knowledge of nutrition and nutritional supplements, interdisciplinary care, patient-centered care, information sources, and (scientific) basis of nutrition information and research
Themes were derived from an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design combining questionnaire and interview data
Semi-structured interviews were used to gain deeper insights beyond what the questionnaire captured
Results
HCPs identified a need for a clearer division of roles between healthcare professionals in providing nutritional care.
Interdisciplinary care was identified as one of the five major themes
HCPs indicated that ambiguity around role responsibilities contributed to inconsistency in nutritional advice provided to patients
Interprofessional collaboration was identified as key to improving confidence, quality, and personalized nutritional support
Results
HCPs expressed a need for access to evidence-based information and greater awareness of nutritional guidelines in oncology care.
Information sources and the scientific basis of nutrition information and research were identified as distinct themes
Education and awareness of guidelines were cited as key factors for improving the quality of nutritional advice
The need for evidence-based information was highlighted in the context of providing uniform advice to adult cancer patients
Results
The study found that consistency in nutritional information provided to cancer patients is currently lacking among oncology HCPs.
The study was conducted at the medical oncology department of a university medical center
Both the questionnaire and interview components highlighted lack of uniformity in nutritional advice as a concern
Patient-centered care was identified as one of the five themes, reflecting HCP recognition that individualized and consistent guidance is important
The study employed an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, with the qualitative phase explaining quantitative findings
What This Means
This research suggests that oncology healthcare professionals — including doctors, nurses, and other clinical staff — feel reasonably confident about general nutrition topics but struggle with questions about nutritional supplements, which cancer patients frequently ask about. The study, conducted at a university medical center's cancer department, used a combination of surveys (completed by 32 staff members) and in-depth interviews (with 9 staff members) to understand where knowledge gaps and communication breakdowns occur when advising patients about diet and supplements during cancer treatment.
The research identified five key problem areas: gaps in supplement knowledge, unclear responsibilities among team members for giving nutrition advice, difficulty tailoring advice to individual patients, uncertainty about which information sources to trust, and limited familiarity with the scientific evidence behind nutrition recommendations. Staff reported that these issues lead to inconsistent advice being given to patients, which can be confusing and potentially harmful.
This research suggests that improving nutritional care for cancer patients would require better training for healthcare staff on nutritional supplements, clearer guidelines about which team member is responsible for providing nutrition advice, and stronger systems for sharing evidence-based information across the care team. These findings are relevant because many cancer patients actively seek guidance on diet and supplements, and inconsistent or uninformed advice from their care team may affect their treatment decisions and overall wellbeing.
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Nagtegaal I, van Rijssen L, van der Meij B, van den Berg M, de Kruif A, Ottevanger P, et al.. (2026). Experiences and needs regarding information on nutrition and nutritional supplements among oncology healthcare professionals: an explanatory sequential mixed-methods study.. Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-026-10966-7