"Food is like all we do all day": a qualitative exploration of nutritional challenges and intervention needs among families of early childhood cancer survivors.
11 affiliations
- 1Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Boston, MA, USA.
- 2Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
- 3Division of Population Sciences, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA.
- 4Department of Data Science, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA.
- 5Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
- 6Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
- 7Division of Cardiology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
- 8Friedman School of Nutrition and Public Policy, Tufts University, Boston, MA, USA.
- 9Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Boston, MA, USA. [email protected].
- 10Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. [email protected].
- 11Division of Population Sciences, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA. [email protected].
Abstract
Purpose
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of non-malignant death among childhood cancer survivors (CCS). Food insecurity is a known modifiable cardiovascular risk factor; perspectives on nutrition for CCS parents navigating food insecurity and cardiovascular risk factors are needed. We aimed to describe parent-identified priorities regarding nutrition, explore barriers to and facilitators of healthy eating, and elicit preferences on nutrition intervention design in early survivorship.Methods
We conducted a single-center qualitative study embedded within a larger survey study. Twenty semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with parents of CCS < 1-year from cancer therapy completion in a purposively sampled cohort based on food insecurity status and the presence of cardiovascular risk factors. We conducted thematic analysis to identify how parents define and prioritize healthy eating, what factors drive their food choices, and preferences for nutrition interventions.Results
Four key themes were identified: (1) healthy eating is highly valued in survivorship; (2) achieving nutritional goals is limited by cost, time, and dietary considerations; (3) early survivorship is a period of ongoing, unmet nutrition and resource needs; and (4) interventions should be modular, empowering, and address access barriers.Conclusion
Although nutrition is highly valued, families with and without food insecurity encounter substantial barriers to healthy eating in early survivorship-a pivotal window for nutrition intervention. Families expressed a strong need for multifaceted and modular nutrition interventions that address access barriers and promote empowerment. Our findings may inform the design of future interventions aimed at improving cardiometabolic health and reducing cardiovascular outcome disparities among CCS.
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BibTeX
@article{fry2026food,
title = {{"Food is like all we do all day": a qualitative exploration of nutritional challenges and intervention needs among families of early childhood cancer survivors.}},
author = {Callie Fry and Brett Nava-Coulter and Jane Roberts and Anna Revette and Morgan A Paul and Lucille Lokko and Emily Jones and Katelyn Fox and Puja J Umaretiya and Colleen A Kelly and Leanne Duhaney and Lisa B Kenney and Fang Fang Zhang and Kira Bona and Rahela Aziz-Bose},
journal = {Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1007/s00520-026-11350-1},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42955377},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - "Food is like all we do all day": a qualitative exploration of nutritional challenges and intervention needs among families of early childhood cancer survivors.
AU - Callie Fry
AU - Brett Nava-Coulter
AU - Jane Roberts
AU - Anna Revette
AU - Morgan A Paul
AU - Lucille Lokko
AU - Emily Jones
AU - Katelyn Fox
AU - Puja J Umaretiya
AU - Colleen A Kelly
AU - Leanne Duhaney
AU - Lisa B Kenney
AU - Fang Fang Zhang
AU - Kira Bona
AU - Rahela Aziz-Bose
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/29
JO - Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer
DO - 10.1007/s00520-026-11350-1
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42955377
AB - Purpose Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of non-malignant death among childhood cancer survivors (CCS). Food insecurity is a known modifiable cardiovascular risk factor; perspectives on nutrition for CCS parents navigating food insecurity and cardiovascular risk factors are needed. We aimed to describe parent-identified priorities regarding nutrition, explore barriers to and facilitators of healthy eating, and elicit preferences on nutrition intervention design in early survivorship.Methods We conducted a single-center qualitative study embedded within a larger survey study. Twenty semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with parents of CCS < 1-year from cancer therapy completion in a purposively sampled cohort based on food insecurity status and the presence of cardiovascular risk factors. We conducted thematic analysis to identify how parents define and prioritize healthy eating, what factors drive their food choices, and preferences for nutrition interventions.Results Four key themes were identified: (1) healthy eating is highly valued in survivorship; (2) achieving nutritional goals is limited by cost, time, and dietary considerations; (3) early survivorship is a period of ongoing, unmet nutrition and resource needs; and (4) interventions should be modular, empowering, and address access barriers.Conclusion Although nutrition is highly valued, families with and without food insecurity encounter substantial barriers to healthy eating in early survivorship-a pivotal window for nutrition intervention. Families expressed a strong need for multifaceted and modular nutrition interventions that address access barriers and promote empowerment. Our findings may inform the design of future interventions aimed at improving cardiometabolic health and reducing cardiovascular outcome disparities among CCS.
SN - 0941-4355
SN - 1433-7339
ER -