Physical Limitations Shape How Hospitalized Cancer Patients Judge Their Care

Hospitalized cancer patients who report greater functional limitations tend to perceive their care as less individualized, according to a cross-sectional study published in BMC Cancer. Using structural equation modeling on data from 239 oncology inpatients, researchers found that measures of activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living, and physical disability together explained about 10.9 percent of the variance in patients’ perceptions of individualized care.

The study, led by Zeliha Cengiz with colleagues including Mensure Turan, Dilek Olmaz and Derya Biçak Ayık, was published on 27 October 2026 as an open-access research article. Patients admitted to an oncology clinic completed standardized self-report questionnaires covering sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, basic activities of daily living (ADL), instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), physical disability, and perceptions of individualized care.

Most participants were independent in daily functioning: 59.0 percent were independent in instrumental activities of daily living and 87.3 percent were independent in basic activities of daily living, while 51.8 percent exhibited mild disability. Against this backdrop, the models indicated that patient-reported functional care needs significantly explained the variance in individualized care perceptions, with the three functional measures accounting for 10.9 percent of the variation overall.

The analysis also examined how functional needs related to distinct sub-dimensions of individualized care. The models explained up to 11.6 percent of the variance in the Clinical Situation sub-dimension, 9.2 percent in the Personal Life Situation sub-dimension, and 10.8 percent in Decisional Control over Care. According to the authors, this pattern suggests that functional care needs did not depress care perceptions uniformly; instead, specific physical dependencies were selectively associated with distinct dimensions of person-centered care.

Because the study is cross-sectional and correlational, it captures associations at a single point in time and cannot establish that functional limitations cause changes in care perceptions. The findings come from a single oncology clinic and rely on patient self-report, so the results may not generalize to other settings, and the modest proportion of variance explained indicates that many other factors shape how patients perceive individualized care.

The authors conclude that standardized ADL and IADL metrics could be repurposed upon admission as early screening tools for care vulnerability, providing multidisciplinary oncology teams with a risk-stratified mechanism to structure autonomy-supportive care pathways at the bedside.

Subject of Research: How functional care needs relate to perceived individualized care among hospitalized oncology patients

Article Title: Functional care needs as determinants of perceived individualized care among hospitalized oncology patients: a structural equation model

Article References: CENGİZ, Z., TURAN, M., OLMAZ, D., & BIÇAK AYIK, D. (2026). Functional care needs as determinants of perceived individualized care among hospitalized oncology patients: a structural equation model. BMC Cancer. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-026-17252-z

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12885-026-17252-z

Keywords: oncology, individualized care, activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living, physical disability, structural equation modeling, person-centered care, hospitalized patients, cross-sectional study, nursing, Functional, care