| 1. |
- Browall, Maria, et al.
(författare)
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Existential encounters: Nurses' descriptions of critical incidents in end-of-life cancer care
- 2014
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Ingår i: European Journal of Oncology Nursing. - : Elsevier BV. - 1462-3889 .- 1532-2122. ; 18:6, s. 636-644
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Nurses working with cancer patients in end of life care need to be prepared to encounter patients' psychosocial and spiritual distress. Aim: The aim of this study was to describe nurses' experiences of existential situations when caring for patients severely affected by cancer. Methods and sample: Nurses (registered and enrolled) from three urban in-patient hospices, an oncology clinic and a surgery clinic and a palliative homecare team were, prior to the start of a training program, invited to write down their experiences of a critical incident (CI), in which existential issues were featured. Results: Eighty-eight CIs were written by 83 nurses. The CIs were analyzed with qualitative content analysis. Two main themes were found: Encounters with existential pain experiences, which concerned facing death and facing losses; and Encountering experiences of hope, which concerned balancing honesty, and desire to live. Conclusions: This study points out that health care professionals need to be aware of patients' feelings of abandonment in exposed situations such as patients' feelings of existential loneliness. That there are some patients that express a desire to die and this makes the nurses feel uncomfortable and difficult to confront these occurrences and its therefore important to listen to patients' stories, regardless of care organization, in order to gain access to patients' inner existential needs.
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| 2. |
- Browall, Maria, 1963, et al.
(författare)
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Health care staff's opinions about existential issues among patients with cancer.
- 2010
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Ingår i: Palliative & supportive care. - : Cambridge University Press. - 1478-9523 .- 1478-9515. ; 8:1, s. 59-68
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to explore health care staff's opinions about what existential issues are important to patients with cancer and staff's responsibility when existential issues are raised by patients. METHOD: Four focus group interviews were conducted with health care staff (N = 23) at an in-patient hospice, on an oncology ward, on a surgical ward, and with a palliative home health care team. The focus group interviews focused on two questions, first, about health care staff's opinions about patients' important existential questions and, second, about health care staff's responsibility when existential issues are raised by the patient. The interviews were tape-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed by qualitative content analysis into subcategories and categories. RESULTS: Four categories and 11 subcategories emerged from the first question. The first category, "life and death," was based on joy of living and thoughts of dying. The second category "meaning," consisted of acceptance, reevaluation, hope, and faith. The third category, "freedom of choice," consisted of responsibility and integrity, and the fourth and last category, "relationships and solitude," consisted of alleviation, dependency, and loss. One category emerged from the second question about the health care staff's responsibility, "to achieve an encounter," which was based on the subcategories time and space, attitudes, and invitation and confirmation. SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS: The strength of this study was that the findings were fairly congruent in different settings and in different geographical areas. Health care staff were aware of the importance of existential issues to patients. The existential issues, mentioned by health care staff, are similar to findings from studies conducted among patients, which is another strength of the present study. Health care staff are also confident about how to act when these issues are raised by the patients. The challenge for the future is to implement the findings from this study among health care staff in different settings.
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| 3. |
- Henoch, Ingela, 1956, et al.
(författare)
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Development of an existential support training program for healthcare professionals
- 2015
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Ingår i: Palliative & Supportive Care. - : Cambridge University Press. - 1478-9515 .- 1478-9523. ; 13:6, s. 1701-1709
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to describe the developmental process of a training program for nurses to communicate existential issues with severely ill patients.METHOD: The Medical Research Council (MRC) framework for the development and evaluation of complex interventions was used to develop a training program for nurses to communicate about existential issues with their patients. The steps in the framework were employed to describe the development of the training intervention, and the development, feasibility and piloting, evaluation, and implementation phases. The development and feasibility phases are described in the Methods section. The evaluation and implementation phases are described in the Results section.RESULTS: In the evaluation phase, the effectiveness of the intervention was shown as nurses' confidence in communication increased after training. The understanding of the change process was considered to be that the nurses could describe their way of communicating in terms of prerequisites, process, and content. Some efforts have been made to implement the training intervention, but these require further elaboration.SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS: Existential and spiritual issues are very important to severely ill patients, and healthcare professionals need to be attentive to such questions. It is important that professionals be properly prepared when patients need this communication. An evidence-based training intervention could provide such preparation. Healthcare staff were able to identify situations where existential issues were apparent, and they reported that their confidence in communication about existential issues increased after attending a short-term training program that included reflection. In order to design a program that should be permanently implemented, more knowledge is needed of patients' perceptions of the quality of the healthcare staff's existential support.
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| 4. |
- Henoch, Ingela, 1956, et al.
(författare)
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Patients’, family members’ and healthcare staffs’ opinions about existential issues as a base for an educational intervention
- 2011
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Ingår i: BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care. - : BMJ. - 2045-4368 .- 2045-435X. ; 1:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective To explore patients', family members' and healthcare staff's opinions about existential issues important to patients with cancer and their relatives. Methods Two integrative literature reviews were conducted about existential issues among cancer patients and relatives, and interventions to meet these issues. Four focus groups were conducted with healthcare staff working with cancer patients at different stages about patients' existential issues, and staff's responsibility when existential issues are raised. Results In the patient review, existential issues were divided into two themes: struggle to maintain self-identity and threats to self-identity. Relatives' existential issues concerned living both in and beyond the presence of death, with reminders of death, compelling them to respond to life close to death and seek support. Few interventions directed to patients or relatives applicable to everyday healthcare practice were found. Focus groups with staff revealed four categories of patients' existential issues, life and death, meaning, freedom of choice, relationships and solitude. According to staff, their responsibility concerned achieving an encounter with the patient. Conclusion Results from three studies are congruent in that, patients, relatives and staff agree, although in different ways, about the importance of existential issues to patients and relatives. Healthcare staff was aware of the importance of existential issues and are to some extent confident about how to act when these issues are raised by the patients. Ongoing studies The project group now continues implementing findings from these studies in an educational intervention to healthcare staff in different settings, and planning interventions to patients and relatives.
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| 5. |
- Henoch, Ingela, 1956, et al.
(författare)
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The Swedish Version of the Frommelt Attitude Toward Care of the Dying Scale : Aspects of Validity and Factors Influencing Nurses' and Nursing Students' Attitudes.
- 2014
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Ingår i: Cancer Nursing. - : Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. - 0162-220X .- 1538-9804. ; 37:1, s. E1-E11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND:: Nurses' attitudes toward caring for dying persons need to be explored. The Frommelt Attitude Toward Care of the Dying (FATCOD) scale has not previously been used in Swedish language. OBJECTIVES:: The objectives of this study were to compare FATCOD scores among Swedish nurses and nursing students with those from other languages, to explore the existence of 2 subscales, and to evaluate influences of experiences on attitudes toward care of dying patients. METHODS:: A descriptive, cross-sectional, and predictive design was used. The FATCOD scores of Swedish nurses from hospice, oncology, surgery clinics, and palliative home care and nursing students were compared with published scores from the United States, Israel, and Japan. Descriptive statistics, t tests, and factor and regression analyses were used. RESULTS:: The sample consisted of 213 persons: 71 registered nurses, 42 enrolled nurses, and 100 nursing students. Swedish FATCOD mean scores did not differ from published means from the United States and Israel, but were significantly more positive than Japanese means. In line with Japanese studies, factor analyses yielded a 2-factor solution. Total FATCOD and subscales had low Cronbach α's. Hospice and palliative team nurses were more positive than oncology and surgery nurses to care for dying patients. CONCLUSIONS:: Although our results suggest that the Swedish FATCOD may comprise 2 distinct scales, the total scale may be the most adequate and applicable for use in Sweden. Professional experience was associated with nurses' attitudes toward caring for dying patients. IMPLICATION FOR PRACTICE:: Care culture might influence nurses' attitudes toward caring for dying patients; the benefits of education need to be explored.
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| 6. |
- Henoch, Ingela, 1956, et al.
(författare)
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Training Intervention for Health Care Staff in the Provision of Existential Support to Patients With Cancer : A Randomized, Controlled Study
- 2013
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Ingår i: Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. - : Elsevier. - 0885-3924 .- 1873-6513. ; 46:6, s. 785-794
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context: When a patient receives a cancer diagnosis, existential issues become more compelling. Throughout the illness trajectory, patients with cancer are cared for in oncology wards, by home care teams or in hospices. Nurses working with these patients are sometimes aware of the patients' existential needs but do not feel confident when discussing these issues.Objectives: To determine the effects of a training intervention, where the focus is on existential issues and nurses' perceived confidence in communication and their attitude toward caring for dying patients.Methods: This was a randomized, controlled trial with a training intervention comprising theoretical training in existential issues combined with individual and group reflection. In total, 102 nurses in oncology and hospice wards and in palliative home care teams were randomized to a training or non-training group. Primary outcomes, confidence in communication, and attitude toward the care of dying patients were measured at baseline, immediately after the training, and five to six months later.Results: Confidence in communication improved significantly in the training group from baseline (before the training) to both the first and second follow-up, that is, immediately after the training and five months later. The attitude toward caring for the dying did not improve in the training group.Conclusion: This study shows that short-term training with reflection improves the confidence of health care staff when communicating, which is important for health care managers with limited resources. Further studies are needed to explore how patients experience the communication skills of health care staff after such training.
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| 7. |
- Henoch, Ingela, 1956, et al.
(författare)
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Undergraduate nursing students' attitudes and preparedness toward caring for dying persons – A longitudinal study
- 2017
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Ingår i: Nurse Education in Practice. - : Elsevier BV. - 1471-5953 .- 1873-5223. ; 26, s. 12-20
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Nursing education needs to prepare students for care of dying patients. The aim of this study was to describe the development of nursing students' attitudes toward caring for dying patients and their perceived preparedness to perform end-of-life care. A longitudinal study was performed with 117 nursing students at six universities in Sweden. The students completed the Frommelt Attitude Toward Care of the Dying Scale (FATCOD) questionnaire at the beginning of first and second year, and at the end of third year of education. After education, the students completed questions about how prepared they felt by to perform end-of-life care. The total FATCOD increased from 126 to 132 during education. Five weeks' theoretical palliative care education significantly predicted positive changes in attitudes toward caring for dying patients. Students with five weeks' theoretical palliative care training felt more prepared and supported by the education to care for a dying patient than students with shorter education. A minority felt prepared to take care of a dead body or meet relatives. © 2017 Elsevier Ltd
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| 8. |
- Lundh Hagelin, Carina, et al.
(författare)
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Factors influencing attitude toward care of dying patients in first-year nursing students.
- 2016
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Ingår i: International journal of palliative nursing. - : Mark Allen Group. - 1357-6321 .- 2052-286X. ; 22:1, s. 28-36
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To describe Swedish first-year undergraduate nursing students' attitudes toward care of dying patients. Possible influences such as age, earlier care experiences, care education, experiences of meeting dying patients and place of birth were investigated.
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| 9. |
- Melin-Johansson, Christina, 1956-, et al.
(författare)
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Living in the Presence of Death : An Integrative Literature Review of Relatives' Important Existential Concerns when Caring for a Severely Ill Family Member
- 2012
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Ingår i: Open Nursing Journal. - : Bentham Open. - 1874-4346. ; 6, s. 1-12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aim: The aim of this study was to explore relatives’ existential concerns when caring for a seriously ill family member as well as to describe interventions that meet these concerns.Methods: In this integrative literature review we assessed and classified 17 papers, 12 qualitative and 5 quantitative. Literature was sought in the databases Cinahl, PubMed, Psykinfo and Web of Science in September 2009 and in March 2010. Search terms used in different combinations were: family, family caregiver, next of kin, relatives, palliative, palliative care, end-of-life care, existential, spirit*. Data were redrawn from the papers results/findings, and synthesized into a new descriptive content.Results: The results were categorized from 13 papers exploring relatives’ important existential concerns and 4 papers describing interventions aimed to support them in the existential area. A majority of the reviewed papers had been written in Sweden and concerned relatives of patients with cancer. One overarching theme, living in the presence of death, and three categories: responses to life close to death; support when death is near; and beyond the presence of death were created.Conclusion: There is an urgent demand for large-scale studies using accurate methodology, as well as a need to design qualified investigations regarding the effects of various interventions, and to determine which interventions are the most effective in supporting relatives who experience existential distress manifested physically and/or psychologically. There is also a considerable demand for educational interventions among professionals in various healthcare settings to increase their knowledge regarding existential concerns among relatives.
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| 10. |
- Strang, Susann, 1953, et al.
(författare)
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Communication about existential issues with patients close to death-nurses' reflections on content, process and meaning
- 2014
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Ingår i: Psycho-Oncology. - : Wiley. - 1057-9249 .- 1099-1611. ; 23:5, s. 562-568
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- ObjectiveEncountering dying patients with implicit existential questions requires the nurses to have positive and comfortable attitude to talking about existential issues. This paper describes the nurses' reflections on existential issues in their communication with patients close to death. MethodsNurses (n=98) were recruited from a hospital, hospices and homecare teams. Each nurse participated in five group reflection sessions that were recorded, transcribed and analysed using qualitative content analysis. ResultsThree domains and nine themes emerged. The content domain of the existential conversation covered living, dying and relationships. The process domain dealt with using conversation techniques to open up conversations, being present and confirming. The third domain was about the meaning of existential conversation for nurses. The group reflections revealed a distinct awareness of the value of sensitivity and supportive conversations. ConclusionThis study supports the assertion that experience of talking about existential issues and supporting environment make nurses comfortable when counselling patients close to death. It was obvious from this study that having the courage to be present and confirming, having time and not trying to solve' every existential problem were the most important factors in conversations with the patients close to death. Copyright (c) 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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