| 1. |
- Heikkilä, Katriina, et al.
(author)
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Work stress and risk of cancer: meta-analysis of 5700 incident cancer events in 116 000 European men and women
- 2013
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In: The BMJ. - : BMJ. - 1756-1833. ; 345:f165
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective To investigate whether work related stress, measured and defined as job strain, is associated with the overall risk of cancer and the risk of colorectal, lung, breast, or prostate cancers.Design Meta-analysis of pooled prospective individual participant data from 12 European cohort studies including 116 056 men and women aged 17-70 who were free from cancer at study baseline and were followed-up for a median of 12 years. Work stress was measured and defined as job strain, which was self reported at baseline. Incident cancers (all n=5765, colorectal cancer n=522, lung cancer n=374, breast cancer n=1010, prostate cancer n=865) were ascertained from cancer, hospital admission, and death registers. Data were analysed in each study with Cox regression and the study specific estimates pooled in meta-analyses. Models were adjusted for age, sex, socioeconomic position, body mass index (BMI), smoking, and alcohol intakeResults A harmonised measure of work stress, high job strain, was not associated with overall risk of cancer (hazard ratio 0.97, 95% confidence interval 0.90 to 1.04) in the multivariable adjusted analyses. Similarly, no association was observed between job strain and the risk of colorectal (1.16, 0.90 to 1.48), lung (1.17, 0.88 to 1.54), breast (0.97, 0.82 to 1.14), or prostate (0.86, 0.68 to 1.09) cancers. There was no clear evidence for an association between the categories of job strain and the risk of cancer.Conclusions These findings suggest that work related stress, measured and defined as job strain, at baseline is unlikely to be an important risk factor for colorectal, lung, breast, or prostate cancers.
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| 2. |
- Udo, Camilla, et al.
(author)
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Surgical nurses' work-related stress when caring for severely ill and dying patients in cancer after participating in an educational intervention on existential issues.
- 2013
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In: European journal of oncology nursing : the official journal of European Oncology Nursing Society. - : Elsevier BV. - 1532-2122 .- 1462-3889. ; 17:5
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- AIM: The aim of this study was to describe surgical nurses' perceived work-related stress in the care of severely ill and dying patients with cancer after participating in an educational intervention on existential issues. METHODS AND SAMPLE: This article reports a mixed methods pilot study of an education programme consisting of lectures and supervised discussions conducted in 2009-2010 in three surgical wards in a county hospital in Sweden. The concurrent data collections consisted of repeated interviews with eleven nurses in an educational group, and questionnaires were distributed to 42 nurses on four occasions. RESULTS: Directly after the educational intervention, the nurses described working under high time pressure. They also described being hindered in caring because of discrepancies between their caring intentions and what was possible in the surgical care context. Six months later, the nurses described a change in decision making, and a shift in the caring to make it more in line with their own intentions and patients' needs rather than the organizational structure. They also reported decreased feelings of work-related stress, decreased stress associated with work-load and feeling less disappointed at work. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate that it may be possible to influence nurses' work-related stress through an educational intervention. According to nurses' descriptions, reflecting on their ways of caring for severely ill and dying patients, many of whom had cancer, from an existential perspective, had contributed to enhanced independent decision making in caring. This in turn appears to have decreased their feelings of work-related stress and disappointment at work.
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| 3. |
- Heikkila, Katriina, et al.
(author)
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Long working hours and cancer risk : a multi-cohort study
- 2016
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In: British Journal of Cancer. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0007-0920 .- 1532-1827. ; 114, s. 813-818
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Working longer than the maximum recommended hours is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, but the relationship of excess working hours with incident cancer is unclear.METHODS: This multi-cohort study examined the association between working hours and cancer risk in 116 462 men and women who were free of cancer at baseline. Incident cancers were ascertained from national cancer, hospitalisation and death registers; weekly working hours were self-reported.RESULTS: During median follow-up of 10.8 years, 4371 participants developed cancer (n colorectal cancer: 393; n lung cancer: 247; n breast cancer: 833; and n prostate cancer: 534). We found no clear evidence for an association between working hours and the overall cancer risk. Working hours were also unrelated the risk of incident colorectal, lung or prostate cancers. Working ⩾55 h per week was associated with 1.60-fold (95% confidence interval 1.12-2.29) increase in female breast cancer risk independently of age, socioeconomic position, shift- and night-time work and lifestyle factors, but this observation may have been influenced by residual confounding from parity.CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that working long hours is unrelated to the overall cancer risk or the risk of lung, colorectal or prostate cancers. The observed association with breast cancer would warrant further research.
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| 4. |
- Knutsson, Anders, 1942-, et al.
(author)
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Breast cancer among shift workers : results of the WOLF longitudinal cohort study
- 2013
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In: Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health. - : Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health. - 0355-3140 .- 1795-990X. ; 39:2, s. 170-177
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate whether shift work (with or without night work) is associated with increased risk of breast cancer. METHODS: The population consisted of 4036 women. Data were obtained from WOLF (Work, Lipids, and Fibrinogen), a longitudinal cohort study. Information about baseline characteristics was based on questionnaire responses and medical examination. Cancer incidence from baseline to follow-up was obtained from the national cancer registry. Two exposure groups were identified: shift work with and without night work. The group with day work only was used as the reference group in the analysis. Cox regression analysis was used to calculate relative risk. RESULTS: In total, 94 women developed breast cancer during follow-up. The average follow-up time was 12.4 years. The hazard ratio for breast cancer was 1.23 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.70-2.17] for shifts without night work and 2.02 (95% CI 1.03-3.95) for shifts with night work. When including only women <60 years of age, the risk estimates were 1.18 (95% CI 0.67-2.07) for shifts without night work, and 2.15 (95% CI 1.10-4.21) for shifts with night work. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate an increased risk for breast cancer among women who work shifts that includes night work.
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| 5. |
- Henoch, Ingela, 1956, et al.
(author)
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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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In: Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. - : Elsevier. - 0885-3924 .- 1873-6513. ; 46:6, s. 785-794
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)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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| 6. |
- Näppä, Ulla, 1960-, et al.
(author)
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Challenging situations when administering palliative chemotherapy : a nursing perspective
- 2014
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In: European Journal of Oncology Nursing. - : Elsevier. - 1462-3889 .- 1532-2122. ; 18:6, s. 591-597
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Palliative chemotherapy treatments (PCT) are becoming more common for patients with incurable cancer; a basic challenge is to optimize tumour response while minimizing side-effects and harm. As registered nurses most often administer PCT, they are most likely to be confronted with difficult situations during PCT administration. This study explores challenging situations experienced by nurses when administering PCT to patients with incurable cancer.Methods: Registered nurses experienced in administering PCT were asked in interviews to recall PCT situations they found challenging. Inspired by the narrative tradition, stories were elicited and analysed using a structural and thematic narrative analysis.Results: A total of twenty-eight stories were narrated by seventeen nurses. Twenty of these were dilemmas that could be sorted into three storylines containing one to three dilemmatic situations each. The six dilemmatic situations broadly related to three interwoven areas: the uncertainty of the outcome when giving potent drugs to vulnerable patients; the difficulty of resisting giving PCT to patients who want it; and insufficient communication between nurses and physician.Conclusion: Nurses who administer PCT are engaged in a complex task that can give rise to a number of dilemmatic situations. The findings may be interpreted as meaning that at least some situations might be preventable if the knowledge and insight of all team members – nurses, physicians, patients, and relatives – are jointly communicated and taken into account when deciding whether or not to give PCT. Forming palliative care teams early in the PCT trajectory, could be beneficial for staff and patients.
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| 7. |
- Näppä, Ulla, et al.
(author)
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Routine assessment of performance status during palliative chemotherapy when approaching end-of-life
- 2016
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In: European Journal of Oncology Nursing. - : Elsevier BV. - 1462-3889 .- 1532-2122. ; 21, s. 266-271
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose: Palliative chemotherapy treatment (PCT) offered late in the cancer disease trajectory may be problematic. It is not easy to accurately calculate whether the potential benefits will outweigh the side effects. This study investigates whether routine use of the Performance Status in Palliative Chemotherapy questionnaire (PSPC) affects the proportions of patients receiving PCT during the last month of life, care utilization, and documentation routines. A secondary aim was to gather registered nurses' experiences of the PSPC in routine use.Methods: Eighty incurable patients with cancer who had used the PSPC before PCT were compared to 160 matched controls, using non-parametric tests. Nurses' reflections on the PSPC were collected and reviewed.Results: No significant differences were found between users and non-users of the PSPC in terms of proportions receiving PCT during the last month of life. Higher proportions of patients older than 74 years received PCT than in previous studies (40% versus 17%). Nurses considered the questionnaires to be a valuable complement to verbal information when trying to acquire an accurate picture of patients' performance status.Conclusion: At this point in the development of the PSPC we did not find any significant decreases in the proportion of patients receiving PCT during the last month in life. However, as the nurses valued the PSPC, it can be used as a complementary tool in assessment of performance status until further research is conducted.
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| 8. |
- Araghi, Marzieh, et al.
(author)
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Smokeless tobacco (snus) use and colorectal cancer incidence and survival : Results from nine pooled cohorts
- 2017
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In: Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. - : SAGE Publications. - 1403-4948 .- 1651-1905. ; 45:8, s. 741-748
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- AIMS: Although smoking is considered to be an established risk factor for colorectal cancer, the current evidence on the association between smokeless tobacco and colorectal cancer is scant and inconclusive. We used pooled individual data from the Swedish Collaboration on Health Effects of Snus Use to assess this association.METHODS: A total of 417,872 male participants from nine cohort studies across Sweden were followed up for incidence of colorectal cancer and death. Outcomes were ascertained through linkage to health registers. We used shared frailty models with random effects at the study level to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).RESULTS: During 7,135,504 person-years of observation, 4170 men developed colorectal cancer. There was no clear association between snus use and colorectal cancer overall. Exclusive current snus users, however, had an increased risk of rectal cancer (HR 1.40: 95% CI 1.09, 1.79). There were no statistically significant associations between snus use and either all-cause or colorectal cancer-specific mortality after colorectal cancer diagnosis.CONCLUSIONS: Our findings, from a large sample, do not support any strong relationships between snus use and colorectal cancer risk and survival among men. However, the observed increased risk of rectal cancer is noteworthy, and in merit of further attention.
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| 9. |
- Browall, Maria, et al.
(author)
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Development and Psychometric Evaluation of a New Short Version of the Swedish Frommelt Attitudes Toward Care of the Dying Scale
- 2021
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In: Cancer Nursing. - : Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health). - 0162-220X .- 1538-9804. ; 44:4, s. 305-313
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: The Frommelt Attitudes Toward Care of the Dying (FATCOD) is widely used as a measure of attitudes toward care of dying patients. However, poor factor structure and item redundancy have been reported across the literature.OBJECTIVE: A short version of the questionnaire is needed, to facilitate effective assessments of the attitudes of those caring for dying patients. The purpose of this study was to develop a FATCOD-Short Form and to secure its psychometric properties.INTERVENTIONS/METHODS: Data gathered from 1000 nurses in previous studies were pooled and reanalyzed. Principal components analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were utilized to assess the factor structure of the FATCOD-30. A Rasch model was used to evaluate the measurement functioning of the scale.RESULTS: Of the original 30 items, 9 items of FATCOD were chosen for retention in the short form based on the principal components analysis, floor or ceiling effects, interitem correlations, and item-total correlation. All 9 items had good internal reliability. Both confirmatory factor analysis and Rasch analysis supported the unidimensionality of the FATCOD-Short Form.CONCLUSIONS: The 9-item FATCOD-Short Form demonstrates evidence of acceptable validity and reliability to identify nurses' attitudes toward caring for dying persons because of its brevity and comprehensive content.IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: When changing curricula in nursing education or implementing new procedures in nursing practice, it is important to have valid instruments to evaluate the results of the change. Such instruments should not be too lengthy or complicated. FATCOD-Short Form is a brief and valid instrument that can be easily used.
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| 10. |
- Landgren, Annelie M., et al.
(author)
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Autoimmune Disease and Subsequent Risk of Developing Alimentary Tract Cancers Among 4.5 Million US Male Veterans
- 2011
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In: Cancer. - : Wiley. - 0008-543X .- 1097-0142. ; 117:6, s. 1163-1171
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Autoimmunity is clearly linked with hematologic malignancies, but less is known about autoimmunity and alimentary tract cancer risk, despite the specific targeting of alimentary organs and tissues by several autoimmune diseases. The authors therefore conducted the first systematic evaluation of a broad range of specific autoimmune diseases and risk for subsequent alimentary tract cancer. METHODS: On the basis of 4,501,578 US male veterans, the authors identified 96,277 men who developed alimentary tract cancer during up to 26.2 years of follow-up. By using Poisson regression methods, the authors calculated relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: A history of autoimmune disease with localized alimentary tract effects generally increased cancer risks in the organ(s) affected by the autoimmune disease, such as primary biliary cirrhosis and liver cancer (RR, 6.01; 95% confidence interval [Cl], 4.76-7.57); pernicious anemia and stomach cancer (RR, 3.17; 95% Cl, 2.47-4.07); and ulcerative colitis and small intestine, colon, and rectal cancers (RR, 2.53; 95% Cl, 1.05-6.11; RR, 2.06; 95% Cl, 1.70-2.48; and RR, 2.07; 95% Cl, 1.62-2.64, respectively). In addition, a history of celiac disease, reactive arthritis (Reiter disease), and systemic sclerosis all were associated significantly with increased risk of esophageal cancer (RR, 1.86-2.86). Autoimmune diseases without localized alimentary tract effects generally were not associated with alimentary tract cancer risk, with the exception of decreased risk for multiple alimentary tract cancers associated with a history of multiple sclerosis. CONCLUSIONS: These findings support the importance of localized inflammation in alimentary tract carcinogenesis. Future research is needed to confirm the findings and improve understanding of underlying mechanisms by which autoimmune diseases contribute to alimentary tract carcinogenesis. Cancer 2011;117:1163-71. Published 2010 by the American Cancer Society*
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