Older People’s Experiences of Social Support and Cancer: A Mixed-Methods Study

The research project described in this case study investigated the experiences of older people with cancer. Whether social support could influence, first, treatment inequality experienced by older people with cancer, and second the quality of life of cancer survivors, was the primary focus of the research. The complexity of the topic, that is the interplay between cancer, older people, and social support, led to integrating qualitative and quantitative methods in a mixed-methods design. The justification for using a mixed-methods approach, the mixed-methods design, and the details of the methods for the qualitative and quantitative studies are discussed. The qualitative analysis was carried out using data collected from two sources, the first being cancer narratives and the second semi-structured, in-depth interviews. The quantitative findings were drawn from secondary data analysis of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. The final stage of the research involved an integrated study of the qualitative and quantitative outcomes and the mixed-methods process. Following mixed-methods guidelines, and in particular insuring integration of outcomes, was central to the successful application of the mixed-methods approach.