European journal of oncology nursing : the official journal of European Oncology Nursing Society
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Chronic sorrow is a multidimensional concept experienced by mothers of children suffering with chronic conditions, e.g. cancer. Little is known about the concept of chronic sorrow and related issues/experiences among mothers of children with cancer living in Iran. This study aimed to explore the concept of chronic sorrow, based on the lived experiences of chronic sorrow experienced in a group of Iranian mothers of children with cancer. ⋯ The results of this study show that the experiences of mothers of children with cancer in Iran are not specific to them, but are better comprehended in their traditional socio-cultural context.
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One of the unanswered questions in symptom clusters research is whether the number and types of symptom clusters vary based on the dimension of the symptom experience used to create the clusters. Given that patients with breast cancer receiving chemotherapy (CTX), report between 10 and 32 concurrent symptoms and studies of symptom clusters in these patients are limited, the purpose of this study, in breast cancer patients undergoing CTX (n = 515), was to identify whether the number and types of symptom clusters differed based on whether symptom occurrence rates or symptom severity ratings were used to create the clusters. ⋯ Identification of symptom clusters in patients with breast cancer may be useful in guiding symptom management interventions. Future studies are warranted to determine if symptom clusters remain stable over a cycle of CTX in patients with breast cancer.
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This study explored the role of several psychological factors in professional quality of life in nurses. Specifically, we tried to clarify the relationships between several dimensions of empathy, self-compassion, and psychological inflexibility, and positive (compassion satisfaction) and negative (burnout and compassion fatigue) domains of professional quality of life. ⋯ We discuss the results in terms of the importance of taking into account the role of these psychological factors in oncology nurses' professional quality of life, and of designing nursing education training and interventions aimed at targeting such factors.