Experiences of cognitively impaired elderly patients with a Brazilian oncology service.
An analysis through the lenses of inclusive design.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17411/jacces.v15i1.522Abstract
Cancer and ageing are factors that increase the risk of developing cognitive impairments. Given this context, there is a complexity of access to healthcare by cognitively impaired elderly patients in oncological contexts. The aim of this study is to analyse the experiences of cognitively impaired elderly cancer patients with a Brazilian oncology outpatient service from the perspective of inclusive design to outline takeaway messages for the design of inclusive health services for these patients. Non-participant observations of the service and interviews with patients and their caregivers were carried out to understand to what extent the service provides proper care to cognitively impaired elderly patients. Thematic analysis of the data was carried out and categories were generated through an inductive approach. Results show that the service is adequate in terms of inclusion overall, but there are opportunities for improvement. Critical points related to the built environment, informational and communication design, trust in the healthcare team, and empathy were identified as opportunities for service improvement to better include and assist such user groups. Takeaway messages for the design of inclusive health services for cognitively impaired elderly patients were highlighted in this study.
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