Prognostication in Advanced Cancer: Nurses' Perceptions of the Dying Process

Background: In recent years, the interest in ethical climate has increased in the literature. However, there is limited understanding of the phenomenon within the cancer care context as well as between countries. Aim: To evaluate cancer nurses’ perceptions of hospital ethical climate in Greece and Cyprus. Research design: This was a quantitative descriptive–correlational comparative study with cancer nurses. Data were collected with the Greek version of the Hospital Ethical Climate Survey questionnaire in addition to demographic data. Participants and research context: In total, n = 235 cancer nurses working in cancer care settings in Greece and Cyprus were recruited at two national oncology nursing conferences. Ethical considerations: The study conforms to the principles of the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki and the relevant ethical approvals were obtained according to national law. Results: The results showed that in terms of the “Managers” dimension, participants working in Greek hospitals (4.30 ± 0.73) had a higher score compared to the Cyprus participants (3.66 ± 0.93) (t = −5.777, p ≤ 0.001). The perceptions of nurses working in oncology units in Greece regarding the ethical climate were more positive compared to Cyprus (M = 3.67 for Greece and M = 3.53 for Cyprus, p ≤ 0.001). Nurses with a higher level of education had a lower average ethical climate score across all dimensions. All dimensions exhibit positive and moderate to high correlations between them (r = 0.414–0.728, p < 0.01). Conclusion: It is imperative to evaluate and improve the hospital ethical climate that prevails in each cancer care department. This highlights the fact that nurses working in seemingly similar cultural and organizational contexts might still have different perceptions of the ethical climate. Despite these differences, it is necessary to create the right conditions to address ethical issues. A positive ethical climate requires good relationships between healthcare professionals and the presence of good teamwork in order to ensure better healthcare provision.

Download Full-text

Nurses' Perceptions of Themselves, Cancer Nurses, Typical, Ideal and Cancer Patients

Perceptual and Motor Skills ◽

10.2466/pms.1976.43.3f.1083 ◽

1976 ◽

Vol 43 (3_suppl) ◽

pp. 1083-1091 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Gary R. Morrow ◽

Josephine K. Craytor ◽

Jean Brown ◽

Margot Fass

Keyword(s):

Cancer Patients ◽

Hospital Staff ◽

Staff Nurses ◽

Hospital Staff Nurses ◽

Planning Ability ◽

Hospital Patients ◽

Cancer Specialists ◽

Nurses Perceptions ◽

Cancer Nurses ◽

The Ideal

The Activity Vector Analysis was administered to four independent samples of hospital staff nurses (40 working on surgical floors, 40 on medical floors, 10 cancer specialists, and 10 in an outpatient department) to investigate differences in how nurses perceived themselves versus the type of nurse who works best with cancer patients, as well as differences in the perceptions of typical hospital patients, ideal patients, and cancer patients. Highly congruent stereotype clusters for the perception of the typical patient and cancer patient were found along with two less congruent stereotype clusters of the ideal patient and a stereotype cluster of perceptions of the cancer nurse. Both typical patients and typical cancer patients were seen as significantly below average in terms of their potential for action and were perceived as exercising less foresight, planning ability, moral judgment, and ethical conduct than nurses.

Download Full-text

Nurses’ Knowledge in Relation to the Anorexia–Cachexia Syndrome in Cancer Patients: A Cross-National Comparison in Two European Countries

SAGE Open Nursing ◽

10.1177/23779608211035208 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

pp. 237796082110352

Author(s):

Georgia Socratous ◽

Constantina Cloconi ◽

Ioanna Tsatsou ◽

Andreas Charalambous

Keyword(s):

Clinical Practice ◽

Cancer Patients ◽

European Countries ◽

Standard Clinical Practice ◽

National Comparison ◽

Nurses Perceptions ◽

Cancer Nurses ◽

Routine Assessment ◽

Cachexia Syndrome ◽

Nurses Knowledge

Introduction The Anorexia–Cachexia Syndrome (ACS) is a severe complication of cancer and is considered to be a significant cause of morbidity and mortality affecting up to two-thirds of cancer patients and one that needs specialized nursing care. Studies showed that the ACS has been relatively under-researched and under-resourced whist the nurses’ knowledge has not been systematically explored. Objective Τo explores nurses’ knowledge, understanding, and management of ACS in clinical practice in two European countries. Methods Descriptive-comparative study with 197 cancer nurses recruited during two National Conferences in Greece and Cyprus. Data were retrieved with the “Investigation of anorexia–cachexia syndrome in Practice” questionnaire. Results In terms of nurses’ perceptions on ACS, the prevailing characteristic reported in both countries was anorexia ( p = .65) followed by weight loss ( p = .04). 189 nurses (95.9%, p = .176) do not currently use a tool to assess patients’ nutritional status as part of their standard clinical practice. Statistically significant differences were found in relation to the routine assessment of nutritional-related symptoms including early satiety (Cyprus 64% vs. Greece 37%, p = .001), hiccough (66% vs. 36%, p < .001), alteration of the taste/odor sensation (77% vs. 45%, p < .001), problems in the oral cavity (84% vs. 68%, p = .032) and daily activities (85% vs. 69%, p = .032). The priority level for the ACS management differed significantly in the two countries ( p = .006), with higher priority being reported in Cyprus. Conclusion The study showed that more education is needed for cancer nurses to better understand the ACS which can facilitate the better management of the syndrome in clinical practice.

Download Full-text

PATIENTS’ AND NURSES’ PERCEPTIONS OF PALLIATIVE CARE OUTCOMES: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

Belitung Nursing Journal ◽

10.33546/bnj.650 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

pp. 92-101

Author(s):

Dewiyuliana Dewiyuliana ◽

Sri Warsini ◽

Christantie Effendy

Keyword(s):

Palliative Care ◽

Advanced Cancer ◽

Health Care Providers ◽

Physical Symptoms ◽

The Other ◽

Care Providers ◽

Information Availability ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Care Outcomes ◽

Nurses Perceptions

Background. Patients with advanced cancer require treatment and the fulfillment of their needs, based on the results of assessments regarding their physical symptoms, psychological and spiritual needs. Palliative care should be delivered with a person-centered care approach. It is important to consider the patients’ reports of their carings’ outcomes. Comparisons between the patients’ and nurses’ perceptions of palliative care outcomes can be used to improve the quality of palliative care.Objective. The purpose of this study is to compare the patients’ and nurses’ perceptions of palliative care outcomes during the patients’ hospitalization.Methods. This is a comparative descriptive study with a cross-sectional design. Data were collected from May to June 2018 from a total of 106 patients with advanced cancer, and 61 nurses. The versions of the Palliative care Outcome Scale (POS) for patients and nurses were used to measure the palliative care outcomes of the patients’ and nurses’ perceptions.Result. The study found a significant difference between the perceptions of the patients and nurses for the palliative care outcomes, particularly in the information availability domain (p = 0.001), the other symptoms domain (p = 0.029), and the anxiety feelings domain (p = 0.030), while the other seven domains had no significant differences between both groups (p > 0.05).Conclusion. The anxiety feelings, other symptoms and information availability domains are the aspects of palliative care which need more attention from health care providers, especially nurses, when caring for patients with advanced cancer.

Download Full-text

Improving Patient Safety and Patient–Provider Communication

Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups ◽

10.1044/2019_pers-sig12-2019-0021 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 4 (5) ◽

pp. 1017-1027 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Richard R. Hurtig ◽

Rebecca M. Alper ◽

Karen N. T. Bryant ◽

Krista R. Davidson ◽

Chelsea Bilskemper

Keyword(s):

Acute Care ◽

Augmentative And Alternative Communication ◽

Health Care Team ◽

Provider Communication ◽

Alternative Communication ◽

Patient Provider Communication ◽

Acute Care Settings ◽

Nurses Perceptions ◽

Communication Needs ◽

The Impact

Purpose Many hospitalized patients experience barriers to effective patient–provider communication that can negatively impact their care. These barriers include difficulty physically accessing the nurse call system, communicating about pain and other needs, or both. For many patients, these barriers are a result of their admitting condition and not of an underlying chronic disability. Speech-language pathologists have begun to address patients' short-term communication needs with an array of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) strategies. Method This study used a between-groups experimental design to evaluate the impact of providing patients with AAC systems so that they could summon help and communicate with their nurses. The study examined patients' and nurses' perceptions of the patients' ability to summon help and effectively communicate with caregivers. Results Patients who could summon their nurses and effectively communicate—with or without AAC—had significantly more favorable perceptions than those who could not. Conclusions This study suggests that AAC can be successfully used in acute care settings to help patients overcome access and communication barriers. Working with other members of the health care team is essential to building a “culture of communication” in acute care settings. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.9990962

Download Full-text