article · BMC Palliative Care
Women receiving palliative care for advanced breast cancer face compounded challenges when dealing with climate-related environmental stressors. A qualitative study at Ho Teaching Hospital in Ghana investigated the experiences of thirty women receiving palliative care between January and March 2026. The findings reveal that extreme heat, flooding, and unreliable electricity significantly worsened cancer symptoms, disrupted continuity of treatment, increased emotional and financial distress, and impeded physical access to essential medical services. Participants adapted to these challenges by relying heavily on family networks, healthcare professionals, community support, and spiritual beliefs to sustain their wellbeing. The findings underscore the necessity of building climate-resilient palliative care infrastructure, enhancing community-based care services, and integrating environmental adaptation strategies into oncology nursing practices and healthcare policies to safeguard vulnerable patients against increasing extreme weather events.
Climate change increasingly disrupts healthcare systems, with vulnerable individuals suffering the greatest burden. Understanding how extreme heat, floods, and power failures affect women receiving palliative cancer care highlights critical gaps in health service resilience. Addressing these environmental factors is crucial for healthcare planners seeking to ensure uninterrupted treatment, protect patient wellbeing, and reduce financial and emotional distress in vulnerable communities.
The findings inform health policy, hospital infrastructure planning, and community-based healthcare service design rather than commercial products. Potential adopters include public health authorities, hospital administrators, and oncology nursing programmes seeking to design climate-resilient healthcare delivery models. Because this is early-stage qualitative research assessing patient perceptions and experiences, it is situated far from direct commercial deployment and primarily serves to guide service adaptations and clinical guidelines.
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Climate change is increasingly recognized as a major global health threat, with disproportionate impacts on vulnerable populations, including women living with breast cancer who are receiving palliative care. These women often experience compounded physical, psychological, and socioeconomic burdens that may be intensified by climate-related stressors such as heatwaves, flooding, and disruptions to healthcare delivery. However, there is limited evidence from low- and middle-income countries, including Ghana, on the effects of climate change on patients receiving palliative care and their quality of life (QoL). A qualitative descriptive design was employed to explore the experiences of women with breast cancer receiving palliative care at Ho Teaching Hospital, Ghana. Thirty participants were purposively sampled between January and March 2026. Data were collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews conducted face-to-face. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using Graneheim and Lundman’s conventional content analysis approach. Trustworthiness was ensured through credibility, dependability, confirmability, and transferability strategies. Ethical clearance was received before data collection began (HTH-REC/EX/2026/003). Participants described climate-related disruptions as becoming intertwined with their experience of advanced breast cancer and palliative care. They explained that extreme heat, flooding, and unreliable electricity worsened symptoms, disrupted treatment continuity, increased emotional and financial burdens, and limited access to essential care. Despite these challenges, participants relied on family, healthcare providers, spiritual beliefs, and community support to adapt and maintain their wellbeing. This study found that climate-related environmental stressors, including extreme heat, flooding, and unreliable electricity, were perceived to adversely influence the palliative care continuum and the quality of life of women with breast cancer. Strengthening climate-resilient palliative care systems, improving healthcare infrastructure, expanding community-based services, and integrating climate adaptation into oncology nursing practice and policy are essential to enhance continuity of care and improve patient outcomes in the context of increasing extreme weather events.
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DOI: 10.1186/s12904-026-02297-5
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