Distinct Self-Management Profiles for Pulmonary Rehabilitation After Lung Cancer Surgery
Haixia Zhao, Chuang Li, Yiming Lu, Xuan Qiao, Chun Wang, Jinyan Xiong, Xinwei Zhang, Lu Liu, Lan Zhang, Wubin HeBackground:
Self-management is crucial for successful pulmonary rehabilitation after lung cancer surgery. Yet, interventions often fail to address the heterogeneity in patients’ self-management capabilities.
Objective:
To identify key dimensions of self-management and construct self-management profiles to characterize distinct self-management patterns among postoperative patients with lung cancer.
Methods:
A descriptive qualitative design was employed. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 24 postoperative patients with lung cancer from a tertiary hospital in Liaoning Province, China. Data were analyzed using inductive content analysis to develop a three-dimensional framework and construct self-management profiles.
Results:
Three key dimensions of self-management emerged: description, characteristics, and needs. Five distinct self-management profiles were identified: the Medically Dependent, the Technology-Empowered, the Harmony-Preserving, the Culturally Constrained, and the Knowledge-Driven self-manager. Twenty-two participants were assigned to these profiles, and 2 exhibited mixed patterns that did not fit a single profile. Each profile was defined by unique descriptors, behavioral traits, and support needs.
Conclusions:
Significant heterogeneity exists in how patients self-manage postoperative pulmonary rehabilitation. Self-management profiling provides a person-centered framework for developing tailored interventions, supporting a shift from standardized to precision nursing in oncology rehabilitation.
Implications for Oncology Nursing Practice:
Nurses can use these profiles to conduct stratified assessments before discharge, identify high-risk individuals, and design differentiated rehabilitation plans. Integrating profile-specific strategies—such as simplified education for the medically dependent or culturally aligned approaches for the culturally constrained—into continuous care pathways may enhance patient adherence and self-efficacy.