European journal of oncology nursing : the official journal of European Oncology Nursing Society
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Comparative Study
Symptoms in the cancer patient: of importance for their caregivers' quality of life and mental health?
To examine the level of symptom burden in a sample of cancer patients in a curative and palliative phase. In addition to determine a) whether the patients' symptom burden and patients' demographic variables, and b) the caregivers' demographic variables' impact on the caregivers' quality of life and mental health. ⋯ In this study no significant differences were revealed when comparing symptom burden among cancer patients in different stages of the disease. Caregivers reported more depression when patients had trouble sleeping and more declined mental quality of life when patients were younger. Female caregivers reported more anxiety than male caregivers.
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To explore the knowledge, attitudes and beliefs of nurses who administer chemotherapy to children and young people. ⋯ As anticipated nurses new to chemotherapy administration were initially anxious about the role and they worried about making a drug error. Education and support from colleagues appears to have a positive effect on reducing worry and increasing competence.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Supporting self-management of pain in cancer patients: methods and lessons learned from a randomized controlled pilot study.
The purposes of this paper are to describe the methods used and the knowledge gained during a pilot study that evaluated the effects of a self-management intervention for cancer pain, as well as the adaptations that were made for a larger clinical trial. ⋯ NCT00920504.
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The impact of childhood cancer on the family has been studied in different cultures and continues to be an object of study and concern, In Lebanon, a country of 4 million people 282 new pediatric cases of cancer age <20 years diagnosed in 2004 were reported in 2008. ⋯ The study contributes to the knowledge that would help health care professionals understand the experiences and challenges that are faced by Lebanese families living with a child with cancer. This awareness would serve as a basis for health care professionals in general and nurses in particular to understand parents' experiences, and offer support, elicit communication of feelings, and examine possibilities for forming a partnership during the challenging course of the child's illness. Supported parents are more likely to provide more effective care to their child with cancer.
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Multicenter Study
A European survey of oncology nurse breakthrough cancer pain practices.
Breakthrough cancer pain (BTCP) is a prevalent type of pain in which the nurse can play an important role in improving patients' pain symptoms and overall well-being. Nurses' experience with BTCP (number of patients, and estimates of severity and frequency), the treatment of BTCP (pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatments normally used), ratings of the importance of treatment factors, and reasons given for not advising patients to take strong painkillers are presented in the present paper. ⋯ Patients do not receive the appropriate medical treatment for their BTCP. Nurses need better training about BTCP in general, and BTCP assessment and management specifically.