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- Ekwall, Eva, 1950-
(författare)
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Women's experiences of gynecological cancer and interaction with the health care system through different phases of the disease
- 2009
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis explores women’s experiences of being diagnosed with gynecological cancer, during different phases of the disease trajectory. The women were undergoing treatment for primary gynecological cancer (study I) and for recurring ovarian cancer (studies II–IV). The focus of studies I and III was the women’s interactions with the health care system, while the experience of recurring ovarian cancer was sought in studies II and IV. Interviews were made and the text was tape-recorded and transcribed. The women in studies I-III were interviewed at the end of their treatment periods. The method used in studies I and III was subjected to qualitative content analysis. The aim of study I was to illuminate what women, diagnosed with primary gynecological cancer, reported to be important in their interactions with the health care system. Fourteen women were interviewed. The results were described in three categories: optimal care, good communication, and maintained self-image and sexuality. The aim in study III was to explore what women with the first recurrence of ovarian cancer perceived as important in their interactions with the health care team. Twelve women were interviewed. The main finding was that the women needed help from the health care team to familiarize themselves with the disease. This theme was supported by the following sub-themes: being confirmed as a person, getting help in making sense of the information about the disease and its treatment, having the opportunity to be involved and to share responsibility, and feeling confident that medical expertise is good enough. A phenomenological method was used in studies II and IV. The aim of study II was to deepen the understanding of women’s experiences of the first recurrence of ovarian cancer. Twelve women were interviewed. The findings showed three key constituents: being denied one’s future while simultaneously hoping to be able to delay the cancer’s advancement; feeling alienated from both oneself and one’s surroundings; and being responsible. The key constituents was integrated into a structure: living in limbo, characteristic of an existential loneliness. In study IV, four of the women from studies II–III were interviewed twice, three and five years after the first recurrence. The aim was to illuminate the phenomenon of living with life-prolonging treatment of recurring ovarian cancer. The analysis started with creation of the situated structure for each woman. The situated structures were transformed into a general structure of living with life-prolonging treatment of recurring ovarian cancer that was formulated as follows: time was experienced as short, yet extendable; the body became increasingly fragile; strength proved itself to be unpredictable; and the wish to share the meaning of the disease with others was experienced as unattainable. The findings produced important knowledge that increases the understanding of the needs of women living with gynecological cancer. This knowledge provides a basis to shape health care delivery in accordance with the needs of the women.
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| 2. |
- Källström Karlsson, Inga-Lill, 1947-
(författare)
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Att leva nära döden : patienters och vårdpersonals erfarenheter inom hospicevård
- 2009
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This research focused on experiences of dying patients and hospice nurses in a hospice unit. The research objectives were to (i) acquire more extensive knowledge about how dying patients and hospice nurses experience life and death and (ii) describe patients who were cared for during a 10-year period in an inpatient hospice ward. Data were gathered via interviews with 19 nurses and 11 patients. An interpretive description method was used to analyze interview results. Data were also gathered from institutional care records that included gender, age, marital status, diagnosis, referral source, and length of stay (666 women and 555 men). Descriptive statistics were used to describe basic features of the study's data and to compare differences between women and men. The main finding from interviewing the nurses was that they were struggling to acknowledge and unveil the person within the weakening body. In doing so, they used various strategies such as (i) striving to understand patients’ experiences of body function loss; (ii) encouraging patients to uphold body functions and daily habits; (iii) acknowledging and balancing patients’ need for body control; and (iv) providing tender care for the body. After 2 years of work in hospice care, nurses described that facing the dying and death of many patients had an impact on daily work and private life. The close relationship with the dying patient led to existential issues concerning the meaning of life and death, which were conceptualized into this theme: death as an agent of change. Eleven years later, the presence of death took a less dominant place in the nurses’ lives, and the theme became: death as a companion in life. In the long-term, nurses emphasized that their relationships with dying patients fostered their professional and personal growth. The findings from interviewing the patients revealed that when death became a reality, life took on new meaning, and they acquired new values that were important to preserve or protect; this triggered need for feeling secure within this situation. These revelations were manifest in three sub-themes: (i) when possible death becomes a reality; (ii) living with death as a reality, and (iii) a need for a feeling of security. And this main theme was conceptualized: making sense of life close to death. Results regarding patients in hospice ward care over a 10-year period revealed significant differences between women and men. More women than men were single, had cancer with relatively short trajectories, and were referred from the oncology department. More men than women were diagnosed with types of cancer with somewhat longer trajectories. Despite longer trajectories, length of stay was shorter for men than for women. The most frequent referral source was the hospital. But compared to women, men (particularly younger men) were more often referred from home-based hospice care. The findings expand knowledge about dying and its various configurations; consequently, care and support needs will vary. For the dying person, it is important to know that care is provided according to the person’s preferences and given when needed.
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