European journal of oncology nursing : the official journal of European Oncology Nursing Society
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Previous research related to stress among health care staff has highlighted several complex issues; however, a deeper analysis of the existential components has been lacking. The purpose of this paper is to study the stress of registered nurses who work with terminally ill and dying cancer patients, according to an earlier model developed by Ekedahl [2001. How can you bear the Challenge of Working at the Edges of Life and Death? Coping Processes with Hospital Chaplains Encountering Existential Confrontation: a Study in Psychology of Religion., Uppsala University, Thesis Uppsala]. ⋯ The material analyzed are based on a life story approach and interviews carried out with 15 Swedish nurses working in hospices, oncology wards, and outpatient services for patients with advanced cancer. The nurses' stress levels ranged from low to severe, including multifaceted stress with existential dimensions. Different types of stress appear to be related with the individual, group, institutional, and cultural level.
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The present paper is derived from a larger survey which examined the perceptions of recently qualified health care professionals' experience on evidence-based practice, team working and cancer care. This study reports solely on the findings relating to cancer care. The perceptions of recently qualified professionals in relation to their initial educational input on issues such as confidence, anxiety, communication skills and practice in cancer care as well as adequacy of support, professional supervision and use of reflection were gathered using a cross-sectional postal survey design. ⋯ Moreover, most respondents learnt about caring for cancer patients through practice rather than classroom teaching. A high percentage (i.e. 64%;18) across all groups felt supported when caring for people with cancer and reported receiving professional supervision as well as being able to actively reflect on their practice. The implications for education and practice were discussed particularly as there have been few studies conducted in relation to the specific needs and collaborative learning of these health care professional groups.
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Cancer is a major problem globally and effective cancer care services are needed to lessen its burden on the community. In Greece, oncology health services provision is not located efficiently, resulting in few patients receiving high-quality care. Furthermore, shortages of health professionals and underdeveloped services such as primary care, home care and palliative care have aggravated the problem. ⋯ Based on the priorities provided by the participants and supporting literature, it is suggested that a national cancer registry, the employment of nurses to develop primary care, home care, day care and palliative care services need to be established. Furthermore, education in communication skills and the redistribution of the bio-medical technology are needed in order to provide more effective cancer services in Greece. More research is needed to validate the actual level of cancer services provided in Greece.
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Fatigue is highly prevalent among persons with cancer and has great impact on their lives. The cancer-related fatigue (CRF) experience is subjective and multidimensional; understanding it from the individual's perspective is essential. This qualitative study explored the meaning of CRF from the individual's perspective. ⋯ Their inability to anticipate the scope of CRF and lack of awareness of strategies to combat CRF distressed some participants. Various individual strategies, based on personal experience, were developed to regain a sense of control. Health care providers can be instrumental in enabling cancer patients to recognize and manage CRF.
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The aim of this study was to translate and culturally adapt the revised Piper Fatigue Scale to Swedish. For translation, guidelines for cross-cultural adaptation were used. Two teams independently translated the instrument and two other teams produced back-translations, after which a multidisciplinary committee decided on a Swedish version. ⋯ In order to establish semantic equivalence, the committee changed some grammatical constructions, and some words were replaced for experiential and conceptual equivalence. When analysing the pre-test, obscurities due to the phrasing of some items were revealed and dealt with in the second revision. This study does not fulfil the process of validation for a translated instrument but offers a sound basis for further accumulation of evidence for validity, and facilitates the choice of an appropriate instrument for studying cancer-related fatigue in Sweden.