Rebuilding and Guiding the Self With Spirituality: A Grounded Theory of Experiences of Adolescents and Young Adults With Cancer.

PURPOSE: To clarify the experiences of spirituality among adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer following diagnosis. PARTICIPANTS & SETTING: Participants were recruited at a clinic and on an oncology unit in Turkey. A combination of purposive sampling and theoretical sampling strategy was used to identify 14 participants. METHODOLOGIC APPROACH: A grounded theory design was used for this study. Semistructured interviews were conducted with each participant between October 2021 and January 2022. The data were analyzed using open, axial, and selective coding. FINDINGS: All the participants were Muslim, were aged 15-39 years, spoke Turkish, and had undergone treatment for any type of cancer. The core category was identified as rebuilding and guiding the self with spirituality. AYAs connected more closely with their sense of spirituality after being diagnosed with cancer. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: This study demonstrated the importance of providing a supportive healing environment to address the spiritual dimension of the cancer experience for AYAs. Individualized interventions ensuring an appropriate level of spiritual care based on clinical standards are essential to meet the needs of patients and ensure positive long-term health outcomes.

Examining the expectations of healing care environment of hospitalized children with cancer based on Watson's theory of human caring.

AIM: To describe the expectations of children with cancer about the healing care environment during hospitalization based on Watson's Theory of Human Caring. DESIGN: A descriptive qualitative research design was used in this study. METHODS: Data were collected between December 2019 and February 2020 from purposively selected children with cancer in a paediatric haematology and oncology clinic at a university hospital in Turkey. Twelve participants (7 females and 5 males) aged 10-17 were recruited to carry out individual semi-structured interviews. All interviews were recorded via a digital audio recorder and transcribed verbatim. The content analysis method was used to analyse the data. FINDINGS: As a result of the analysis, three main themes with related sub-themes were identified that revealed the expectations of children with cancer: 'healing care behaviors', 'creating the physical environment of the hospital' and 'support from the social environment'. CONCLUSION: Watson's Theory of Human Caring may be a useful and applicable guide for drawing a conceptual framework of the expectations of children with cancer regarding a healing care environment. The study revealed these children's need for humanistic, compassionate, honest and problem-focused care. In addition, participants wished for improvements in the physical environment. They also stated that they feel lonely and need social support from their family, peers and society. IMPACT: This study presents a comprehensive picture of the expectations regarding a healing care environment (caring behaviours and physical and social aspects) of hospitalized children with cancer undergoing treatment. The qualitative findings generated by our study have the potential to facilitate these children's healthy adjustment to the hospital environment and procedures during hospitalization. Knowledge acquired through this study may be used to shape nursing care, enhance the healing care environment, and ensure that hospital design and setting are acceptable to and appropriate for paediatric patients.