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- Andershed, Birgitta
(författare)
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The situation of relatives and their involvement in palliative care
- 2003
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Ingår i: Austral-Asian Journal of Cancer. - 0972-2556. ; 2:2, s. 174-181
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article summarises a number of studies in palliative care with the following primary aims; to describe and obtain increased understanding for the relatives' situation; to analyse the involvement of the relative; to analyse obstacles to and possibilities for the relatives' involvement; and to develop a theoretical framework of understanding concerning their involvement. The main results from the summarised studies show that the relatives' involvement in the patients' care could be classified into three main categories: "to know", "to be" and "to do". The studies show that the relatives' involvement can be described as either involvement in the light or involvement in the dark. Involvement in the light and in the dark illustrates the relatives' understanding of the situation, their possibilities for involvement, ad the attitude of the staff towards the relatives. A pattern which was observed was that those relatives who were involved in the light described having been met with respect, openness, sincerity, confirmation, and connection, while the opposite was the case for those who were involved in the dark. A surprising result was that the time between the patient?s cancer diagnosis and death was three months or less for 49% of 67 patients. In those cases where the course of illness was short, there was no time to lose and it was important that caring delays were avoided. Factors that promoted involvement in the light were professional care based on humanistic values, a stronger sense of coherence of relatives, an appropriate course of illness, and other available resources such as other relatives and one's own health. The result from the studies were summarised in five assumptions which together form a theoretical framework of understanding for the involvement of relatives.
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| 2. |
- Johansson, Inez, et al.
(författare)
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Social support and self-esteem in patients afflicted with cancer in the reproductive organs, including breasts
- 2003
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Ingår i: Australian-Asian Journal of Cancer. - 0972-2556. ; 2:2, s. 116-123
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Social support is generally considered as having positive effects on cancer patients´ health and well being by supporting the patient to manage the crisis. But, a cancer diagnosis and its treatment do often have negative effects on self-esteem and the cancer patients´ life-concepts. The relation between perceived social support and self-esteem among cancer patients were identified and explored in present study. Two hundred and sixteen respondents, living in the south of Sweden, completed the Norbeck Social Support Questionnaire and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. The sample consisted of 116 females and 100 males, ranged in the age from 26-82. The majority of the sample was married, had children and grandchildren. The average duration of illness was 5 years. The average number of people in each network was 8.0, and relatives and friends were most frequently listed. The majority of the sample scored high self-esteem and statistical significance was shown in relation to age. No statistical significance was shown with respect to self-esteem and social support, but moderate correlations were found. Strongest correlations were found between emotional support and self-esteem. Increased knowledge about cancer patients´ long-term experiences is needed in order to perceive them as patients with a chronic disease.
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