Tailoring nutrition and cancer education materials for breast cancer patients.
Irina Melnic, Angelica E Alvarado, Maria Claros and 3 others
PMID 34140197WHAT IT FOUND
Breast cancer patients from many countries found nutrition slides confusing when wording, foods, or pictures did not match their language or shopping habits.
They wanted familiar food names, clear labeled photos, and simple do and avoid layouts.
Key findings
01Interviews with 48 women from 19 countries showed that nutrition materials needed tailoring for regional language, unfamiliar foods, literacy, layout, and visuals.
02Patients asked for labeled pictures and a layout that placed recommended actions above foods to avoid.
03Plain-language edits included replacing 'leftovers' with 'food cooked yesterday' and 'tolerate treatment' with 'deal with cancer treatment.'
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The materials were tested for understanding, not for clinical effect. Participants came from a limited set of New York City sites, so results may not fit other regions. Interviews were not audio recorded, so some patient comments may not have been captured exactly. The paper reports patient feedback on materials, not patient outcomes.
Declared interests
The supplied article text does not include a conflicts of interest or funding statement. The publication types list NIH extramural and non-U.S. government research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that these tailored materials improve nutrition, treatment tolerance, or quality of life. The study tested patient feedback on slide wording, pictures, and layout; it did not measure health or dietary outcomes.