Lived experience of Jordanian colorectal cancer patients with recurrence: an interpretative phenomenological analysis.

Despite improvement in the cancer treatment modalities, recurrence is still common. This study was conducted to explore Jordanian colorectal cancer patients' experience during the recurrence phase. Phenomenology - Qualitative design with semi-structured individual interviews with open questions was used. Three main themes and several subthemes were emerged: (1) adequate information and support from professionals (helpful relationship with professionals and disease orientation), (2) disease and treatment impact (being shocked, uncertainty, losing autonomy, isolation, and discomfort), and (3) seeking complementary treatment (spiritual activities and complementary therapy). The results can be helpful in increasing our understanding of the CRC experience during recurrence phase.

Mixed Blessings? Religion/Spirituality Predicts Better and Worse Screening Behaviours.

Some health research suggests that religious and spiritual variables positively predict health-screening behaviours. However, much of the literature on this topic has utilized exclusively religious samples, or has sampled from populations without uniform access to health care. Either of these issues may have artificially inflated the relationship between religion/spirituality and health-screening behaviours. The current study used data from the 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey to examine a general sample of women from New Brunswick and Manitoba (N > 1200). Results indicated that lower levels of church attendance were positive predictors of papanicolaou tests and mammograms, while higher levels of attendance were generally associated with poorer screening behaviours. Religiosity was a uniformly non-significant predictor of screening behaviours. Finally, religious affiliation was inconsistently related to screening behaviours, but tended to favour religious non-affiliation when it was. Religion/spirituality does not appear to have a uniformly positive nor linear effect in predicting health-screening behaviours in women.

An Integrative Review of Korean Nursing Studies on Pediatric Tonsillectomy

PURPOSE: Tonsillectomy is a very common surgical procedure, particularly in children. The purpose of this study was to identify current evidence in nursing research on pediatric tonsillectomy by analyzing and evaluating Korean nursing studies related to pediatric tonsillectomy. METHODS: An integrative literature review of Korean pediatric tonsillectomy research was conducted. Databases were searched to identify research that related to nursing care for pediatric tonsillectomy children. RESULTS: Of the 115 studies identified, 13 studies met the inclusion criteria for this review. All studies were experimental studies and most of those studies had a quasi experimental design. No correlational studies or qualitative studies were found. Providing nursing information and education for children and their mothers at pre, during, and post tonsillectomy by pediatric nurses were found to be effective in reducing children's pain and anxiety and their mother's anxiety and uncertainty, and increasing children's appropriate sick role behaviors and their mother's satisfaction with nursing services provided and knowledge related to tonsillectomy. CONCLUSION: Although most studies reported positive effects in terms of post tonsillectomy outcomes, lack of methodological rigor limits the current evidences for pediatric tonsillectomy nursing interventions. Greater attention to improve methodological rigor for Korean research on pediatric tonsillectomy is needed.

How to Prevent Depression? Current Directions and Future Challenges in Children with Chronic Medical Conditions.

With its high rates of chronicity and concomitant economic costs to society, depression ranges among the most prevalent mental disorders. Several trials have succeeded in demonstrating the beneficial effects of early depression prevention programs for otherwise healthy children and adolescents. However, comparable programs for children and adolescents with a medical condition are still scarce. This paper discusses the situation of chronically ill children and adolescents who are at risk of developing comorbid depressive symptoms using the example of three conditions frequently encountered in pediatric psychosomatic medicine: diabetes, epilepsy and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Each patient group is introduced with regards to specific risk factors and correlates of depression. Also, existing customized depression prevention programs and according research trials are presented. Reviewing the body of literature, it becomes apparent that risk factor research and depression prevention are still in their infancy for these three patient groups. While new risk factor models and biomarker approaches emerge as a promising rationale for depression prevention, research is called upon to include randomized control trials as well as longitudinal designs in order to achieve more optimally tailored preventive interventions for children and adolescents with chronic medical conditions.

Picturing the Experience of Living With Myotonic Dystrophy (DM1): A Qualitative Exploration Using Photovoice.

BACKGROUND: Myotonic dystrophy presents with multisystemic complications, and there is a well-recognized myotonic dystrophy personality profile that is characterized by executive dysfunction, an avoidant personality, and impaired cognition. Understanding symptom impact on patients' lives is crucial for providing appropriate patient-centered care; however, much of the myotonic dystrophy literature reflects the biomedical model, and there is a paucity of articles exploring patient experience. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to use a novel research approach to explore the experiences of patients with myotonic dystrophy. METHODS: Nine individuals participated in a qualitative study using the photovoice method. Photovoice uses the visual image to document participants' lives, and participants took pictures pertaining to living with myotonic dystrophy that stimulated individual and focus group interviews. We used content analysis to analyze the data; in turn, codes were collapsed into themes and categories. Findings were presented to participants to ensure resonance. RESULTS: Participants took 0-40 photographs that depicted barriers and facilitators to living successfully with myotonic dystrophy. We identified two categories that include participants' challenges with everyday activities, their worries about the future, their grief for lost function and social opportunities, and their resilience and coping strategies. Participants also described their experiences using the photovoice method. CONCLUSION: Photovoice is a useful approach for conducting research in myotonic dystrophy. Participants were active research collaborators despite perceptions that individuals affected with myotonic dystrophy are apathetic. Our findings suggest that participants are concerned about symptom impact on reduced quality of life, not symptoms that clinicians preferentially monitor. Nurses, therefore, are essential for providing patient-centered, holistic care for patients' complex biopsychosocial needs. Research exploring current physician-led clinical care models is warranted.

A guide to introducing and integrating reflective practices in medical education.

It is a significant challenge for any medical education program to provide adequate training in medical knowledge. It can be just as daunting to include appropriate opportunity to learn about and manage the emotional impact of illness experiences, the healing process, and provider-patient relationships. While there may be only a few basic changes to the core of medical knowledge, advances in medical practice regularly have an impact on the nature of patient care. Life-long learning is essential to maintain one's competence. However, everything doctors and other medical professionals learn about relationships with patients during their training is relevant for the rest of their career. One primary source of this learning are reflective practices. However, there is no guide or description of or comparison among the distinguishing characteristics of reflective processes. In addition, there are no criteria for the selection or integration of reflective processes in medical training or beyond. This article proposes understanding reflection as a complex, three-level process and identifies dimensions which differentiate a variety of reflective process activities. The discussion includes considerations for selecting which activities might be usefully incorporated in education curricula, and identifies conditions of medical training cultures that will support successful integration.

The role of religion and spirituality in coping with type 2 diabetes: a qualitative study among Black men.

Religion and spirituality are instrumental to coping with health; however, there is limited literature on the use of religion and spirituality among Black men with type 2 diabetes. The purpose of this study is to explore how Black men use religion or spirituality to cope with diabetes management. We conducted in-depth interviews with 30 Black men recruited from a diabetes clinic in Atlanta, Georgia as part of a larger study. This article reports on data from 12 of the 30 Black men who reported the use of religion and spirituality as a coping strategy for diabetes management. The following coping strategies were reported: prayer and belief in God, keeping me alive, turning things over to God, changing my unhealthy behaviors, supplying my needs, reading the Bible, and religious or spiritual individuals helping me. Healthcare professionals and researchers involved in diabetes management among Black men should consider these findings in their efforts.

Dysfunctional illness perception and illness behaviour associated with high somatic symptom severity and low quality of life in general hospital outpatients in China.

OBJECTIVE: In primary care populations in Western countries, high somatic symptom severity (SSS) and low quality of life (QoL) are associated with adverse psychobehavioural characteristics. This study assessed the relationship between SSS, QoL and psychobehavioural characteristics in Chinese general hospital outpatients. METHODS: This multicentre cross-sectional study enrolled 404 patients from 10 outpatient departments, including Neurology, Gastroenterology, Traditional Chinese Medicine [TCM] and Psychosomatic Medicine departments, in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Kunming. A structured interview was used to assess the cognitive, affective and behavioural features associated with somatic complaints, independent of their origin. Several standard instruments were used to assess SSS, emotional distress and health-related QoL. Patients who reported low SSS (PHQ-15<10, n=203, SOM-) were compared to patients who reported high SSS (PHQ-15≥10, n=201, SOM+). RESULTS: As compared to SOM- patients, SOM+ patients showed significantly more frequently adverse psychobehavioural characteristics in all questions of the interview. In hierarchical linear regression analyses adjusted for anxiety, depression, gender and medical conditions (SSS additionally for doctor visits), high SSS was significantly associated with "catastrophising" and "illness vulnerability"; low physical QoL was associated with "avoidance of physical activities" and "disuse of body parts"; low mental QoL was associated with "need for immediate medical help." CONCLUSION: In accordance with the results from Western countries, high SSS was associated with negative illness and self-perception, low physical QoL with avoidance behaviour, and low mental QoL with reassurance seeking in Chinese general hospital outpatients.

Assessing psychosocial vulnerability and care needs of pretransplant patients by means of the INTERMED.

OBJECTIVE: We investigated whether the INTERMED, a generic instrument for assessing biopsychosocial case complexity and direct care, identifies organ transplant patients at risk of unfavourable post-transplant development by comparing it to the Transplant Evaluation Rating Scale (TERS), the established measure for pretransplant psychosocial evaluation. METHOD: One hundred nineteen kidney, liver, and heart transplant candidates were evaluated using the INTERMED, TERS, SF-36, EuroQol, Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), and Hospital Anxiety & Depression Scale (HADS). RESULTS: We found significant relationships between the INTERMED and the TERS scores. The INTERMED highly correlated with the HADS,MADRS, and mental and physical health scores of the SF-36 Health Survey. CONCLUSIONS: The results demonstrate the validity and usefulness of the INTERMED instrument for pretransplant evaluation. Furthermore, our findings demonstrate the different qualities of INTERMED and TERS in clinical practice. The advantages of the psychiatric focus of the TERS and the biopsychosocial perspective of the INTERMED are discussed in the context of current literature on integrated care.

Necessidades espirituais da pessoa doente hospitalizada: revisão integrativa / Necesidades espirituales de la persona enferma hospitalizada: revisión integrativa / The Spiritual Needs of Ailing Hospitalized Patients: An Integrative Review

A espiritualidade é intrínseca ao ser humano e manifesta-se também associada à doença, à perda ou quando o ser humano é confrontado com o sofrimento ou a morte. Como a expressão das necessidades espirituais não se processa de igual forma na pessoa saudável ou doente, a sua atenção requer uma intervenção rigorosa e profissional. Objetivos: identificar necessidades espirituais da pessoa hospitalizada e conceitos de espiritualidade. Método: revisão integrativa de dez estudos quantitativos e qualitativos sobre necessidades espirituais, publicados no período de 2004 a 2011 nas bases de dados (EBSCO, MEDLINE, SAGE e B-ON), orientada pelas questões: quais as necessidades espirituais da pessoa hospitalizada e os conceitos de espiritualidade utilizados nos estudos selecionados? Resultados: da análise dos artigos emergiram as seguintes necessidades espirituais: procura de sentido na doença e sofrimento; estar em relação com os outros e com o Ser Superior, o que indica presença evidente de valores, crenças espirituais, fé, esperança e necessidades religiosas, associadas aos conceitos: sentido de vida, relacionamentos, transcendência e práticas religiosas. Conclusões: os doentes podem expressar as suas necessidades espirituais por meio das formas mais sutis. Os enfermeiros devem avaliar as necessidades espirituais de "mente aberta" e serem capazes de proporcionar a assistência mais adequada.

La espiritualidad es intrínseca al ser humano y se manifiesta también asociada a la enfermedad, la pérdida o cuando el ser humano se enfrenta con el sufrimiento o la muerte. Como la expresión de las necesidades espirituales no se procesa de igual forma en la persona sana o enferma, su atención requiere una intervención rigurosa y profesional. Objetivos: identificar necesidades espirituales de la persona hospitalizada y conceptos de espiritualidad. Método: revisión integrativa de diez estudios cuantitativos y cualitativos sobre necesidades espirituales, publicados en el período del 2004 al 2011 en las bases de datos (EBSCO, MEDLINE, SAGE y B-ON), orientada por las interrogantes: ¿Cuáles son las necesidades espirituales de la persona hospitalizada y los conceptos de espiritualidad utilizados en los estudios seleccionados? Resultados: del análisis de los artículos emergieron las siguientes necesidades espirituales: busca de sentido en la enfermedad y sufrimiento; estar en relación con los otros y con el Ser Superior, lo que señala presencia evidente de valores, creencias espirituales, fe, esperanza y necesidades religiosas, asociadas a los conceptos: sentido de vida, relaciones, transcendencia y prácticas religiosas. Conclusiones: los enfermos pueden expresar sus necesidades espirituales por medio de las formas más sutiles. Los enfermeros deben evaluar las necesidades espirituales de "mente abierta" y ser capaces de proporcionar la asistencia más adecuada.

Spirituality is intrinsic to human beings and is also manifest in association with illness, loss or when man is faced with suffering or death. Because those who are ill do not process the expression of spiritual needs the same way as healthy persons, their care requires thorough and professional intervention. Objectives: This study is designed to identify the spiritual needs of hospitalized patients and concepts of spirituality. Methodology: It involves an integrative review of ten quantitative studies on spiritual needs published from 2004 to 2011 in databases (EBSCO, MEDLINE, SAGE and B -ON). The guiding question was: What are the spiritual needs of a hospitalized person and the concepts of spirituality used in the selected studies? Results: An analysis of the articles revealed several spiritual needs; namely, the search for meaning in illness and suffering, and being in relationship with others and with God, signaling the obvious presence of values, spiritual beliefs, faith, hope and religious needs associated with the concepts of the meaning of life, relationships, transcendence and religious practices. Conclusions: Patients are able to express their spiritual needs through the most subtle of ways. Nurses must assess spiritual needs with an "open mind" and be able to provide the appropriate assistance.

General practitioners' management of the long-term sick role.

In this paper, we use qualitative research techniques to examine the role of general practitioners in the management of the long-term sickness absence. In order to uncover the perspectives of all the main agents affected by the actions of general practitioners, a case study approach focussing on one particular employment sector, the public health service, is adopted. The role of family physicians is viewed from the perspectives of health service managers, occupational health physicians, employees/patients, and general practitioners. Our argument is theoretically framed by Talcott Parsons's model of the medical contribution to the sick role, along with subsequent conceptualisations of the social role and position of physicians. Sixty one semi-structured interviews and three focus group interviews were conducted in three Health and Social Care Trusts in Northern Ireland between 2010 and 2012. There was a consensus among respondents that general practitioners put far more weight on the preferences and needs of their patients than they did on the requirements of employing organisations. This was explained by respondents in terms of the propinquity and longevity of relationships between doctors and their patients, and by the ideology of holistic care and patient advocacy that general practitioners viewed as providing the foundations of their approach to patients. The approach of general practitioners was viewed negatively by managers and occupational health physicians, and more positively by general practitioners and patients. However, there is some evidence that general practitioners would be prepared to forfeit their role as validators of sick leave. Given the imperatives of both state and capital to reduce the financial burden of long-term sickness, this preparedness puts into doubt the continued role of general practitioners as gatekeepers to legitimate long-term sickness absence.