This study aims at determining the spiritual care needs of women with breast cancer and their family caregivers, as well as the effect of spirituality on coping with this illness. This qualitative research utilized a phenomenological design. In-depth individual interviews were conducted with breast cancer women and family caregivers. A total of 26 participants (13 women with breast cancer and 13 family caregivers) were involved. The data were examined using inductive thematic analysis. Three main themes were identified: "Being diagnosed with breast cancer; its emotional and life-related impacts;" "Spirituality in fighting with cancer;" and "Caring period and needs". The results showed that the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer have multifaceted effects on women and their family caregivers. Spirituality was found to be an essential factor in coping with cancer for women with cancer and their family caregivers. In addition, the results showed that women and family caregivers have some unmet spiritual care needs.
Breast Neoplasms , Spiritual Therapies , Humans , Female , Spirituality , Breast Neoplasms/psychology , Caregivers/psychology , Adaptation, Psychological , Turkey , Qualitative Research
Smoking during pregnancy is a serious public health concern due to its adverse consequences on fetal development and pregnant women's health. For the success of smoking cessation interventions, it is essential to determine why pregnant women continue smoking. The objective of this study is to determine the beliefs, attitudes, and barriers to quitting smoking during pregnancy. We adopted a qualitative research design. The participants consisted of 22 pregnant women who smoke, selected by purposive sampling. We collected data through semi-structured interviews and analyzed it using thematic analysis. We identified six themes namely "Reasons for starting to smoke: family and social environment," "Intention to quit smoking and related factors," "Smoking and emotional well-being," "Smoking and stressful life experiences," "Protective thoughts: reducing smoking to safeguard their babies," and "Belief in a healthy pregnancy and inadequate risk perception." Women expressed the desire to protect their fetus from the harm of smoking. However, they continued to smoke due to a lack of knowledge, inadequate risk perception, psychological difficulties, and lack of motivation. Health professionals should be aware of the difficulties experienced by pregnant women who smoke and should support them in quitting smoking.
Pregnant Women , Smoking Cessation , Female , Pregnancy , Humans , Pregnant Women/psychology , Smoking Cessation/psychology , Social Environment , Qualitative Research , Smoking/adverse effects
Gaining insight into the prenatal care experiences and expectations of high-risk pregnant women is crucial for offering holistic care that aligns with their individualized needs. This study aimed at determining the care experiences and expectations of women with high-risk pregnancies. We adopted a descriptive qualitative approach in the research. The data were collected through in-depth interviews between March and June 2022. The participants included 27 high-risk pregnant women selected by purposive sampling. We analyzed the data using inductive content analysis. We utilized the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) checklist to report data. The participants' ages ranged from 22 to 40 years. The participants' gestational ages ranged from 29 to 38 weeks. We identified three themes, namely "Emotions felt in the course of pregnancy", "Care experiences; satisfaction and dissatisfaction", and "Expectations for ideal care". The findings showed that women experienced fear, stress, and anxiety while expecting supportive, attentive, and understanding care during the course of pregnancy. Our results revealed that high-risk pregnant women have some unmet care needs. Healthcare professionals should strive to provide individualized and holistic care for high-risk pregnant women.
High-risk pregnant women experience stress and anxiety. Anxiety may affect prenatal attachment. This study aimed to examine the effect of anxiety on prenatal attachment in high-risk pregnant women. The study was cross-sectional and conducted on 290 high-risk pregnant women who applied to the perinatology outpatient clinic of a university hospital between February and July 2022. The data were collected with the descriptive information sheet, Prenatal Attachment Inventory (PAI), and Perinatal Anxiety Screening Scale (PASS). Mann-Whitney U, Kruskal Wallis-H, and Spearman's Correlation tests were used to analyze the data. The mean age of the examined pregnant women was 28.12 ± 5.36, and most of them were multigravida (65.5 percent) and in the third trimester (80.7 percent). The PAI and PASS mean scores were 64.09 ± 11.31 and 27.98 ± 16.52, respectively. There was a weak positive correlation between anxiety and prenatal attachment (r = .227, p < .001). The levels of prenatal attachment were higher in primigravidas and women with no children. Also, the anxiety levels of pregnant women in the third trimester were lower. Health professionals should evaluate the prenatal attachment and anxiety levels of high-risk pregnant women, and consider obstetrical factors that may influence both prenatal attachment and anxiety levels.
This descriptive study aimed at determining the spiritual care competencies and the frequency of spiritual care practices of nurses. A total of 119 nurses working in the palliative care unit, oncology services, and intensive care units of a state hospital in Turkey participated in the study. The data were collected by the Participant Information Form, Spiritual Care Competence Scale, and Nurse Spiritual Care Therapeutics Scale. Spiritual care competencies of the nurses were found to be high; the frequency of spiritual care practices was determined as moderate. We found a positive correlation between the spiritual care competencies and the frequency of spiritual care practices of nurses. There was a significant difference between nurses' received spiritual care training status and their scale scores. In addition, nurses who believed that spiritual care was an important part of nursing care, and an important need of patients, had higher scale scores.
This study was conducted to determine the effects of the Human Caring Theory-based post-cesarean caring and pain management training on caring behaviors and caring outcomes. The sample consisted of 25 nurses, midwives and 208 women who had cesarean. Nurses and midwives were given training based on Human Caring Theory, which consisted of three sessions. Nurses and midwives caring behavior scores increased after the training. Midwives' self-rating scores, the rate of using a scale to assess pain and recording information on pain assessment increased. Caring satisfaction and perception of the caring behavior of women who had cesarean increased and their pain levels decreased.
