Religious faith in coping with terminal cancer: what is the nursing experience?

This qualitative study describes nurses' reports on the role played by religious faith in the care of patients with terminal cancer. Using Gadamer's philosophical hermeneutics and C. Roy's adaptation model as a base, in-depth interviews were carried out with 23 nurses who had cared for patients with terminal cancer for at least 6 months. Three main themes emerged when a Gadamerian-based hermeneutic research method was applied: faith facilitates the coping process in cases of terminal cancer, faith hinders the coping process in cases of terminal cancer and terminal illness impacts faith. The lack of univocal results indicates that the role of faith in coping with death is essentially practical, individualised and changeable. The nurse-patient relationship can help to determine the spiritual needs of cancer patients at the end of life. This source of knowledge held by the nurse, together with the rest of the multidisciplinary team, can help to improve end-of-life care.

Strategies to develop the nursing process and nursing care plans in the health system in Bolivia.

BACKGROUND: Care plans provide guidelines to offer all patients the same quality assistance. Care plans constitute a base where every stage of the nursing process can be recorded, which will save time when handling documentation. Bolivian nurses are very keen to participate in this global trend in order to grasp the opportunity offered by the international cooperation programmes carried out between Spain and South America. AIMS: To identify obstacles and enablers encountered when implementing the nursing process and to set clear strategies and actions so as to develop the nursing process and care plans in Santa Cruz department (Bolivia) both in hospitals and universities. METHODS: The participatory action research was conducted between the Autonomous University of Gabriel René Moreno (Bolivia) and the University of Almería (Spain). The procedure for data collection included meetings with key informants, interviews, observation and workshops. Data were analysed using the constant comparison and categorized by common themes. RESULTS: Lack of time and instruments, shortage of resources and the need for continuous training came up as obstacles, whereas enablers were the nurses' involvement, the university-hospital coordination and the support given by institutions. Actions taken were the creation of a care plan unit, the implementation of a training programme, design of instruments and meetings held with authorities and institutional representatives. CONCLUSIONS: Conducting action research schemes within international cooperation programmes signifies an excellent opportunity for the nursing system in less-developed countries to be included in international plans with the aim of standardizing the nursing practice.