Examining the mother's supportive role caring for a child with cancer.

Background: Childhood cancer is a stressful experience for patients and their families; it has a profound effect on families emotionally, psychologically and financially. The mother's supportive role affects the child's treatment outcomes and the health of all family members. Aims: This study was conducted to describe the experiences of mothers of children with cancer. Methods: A total of 14 mothers of children with cancer were recruited using purposive sampling. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted using a qualitative inductive content analysis. Data were analysed using Graneheim et al's (2004) approach. Findings: According to data analysis, the mother's supportive role can be depicted across four subthemes: 'being genuinely present with a sick child'; 'keeping the family together and strengthening its cohesion'; 'providing compassionate collaborative care for peers'; and 'empowering the self and taking charge of one's own life'. The main overarching theme extracted from this study was 'sacrifice'. Conclusion: This study results suggest that the mothers' supportive role is relying on their own personal power, in which they not only give the care to the child, family and counterparts, but also drive personal growth and empowerment of mothers. A deeper understanding of mothers' experiences of their supportive role may enhance the quality of care and promote further paediatric approaches to palliative care.

Power of Religious Beliefs and Coping with Cancer: Opinions of Iranian Parents.

Childhood cancer as a stressful event has many consequences for both the parents and their children. The aim of the study was to assess the coping strategies used by Iranian parents of children with cancer. The present study was conducted through convenience sampling with the participation of 205 parents with at least one child with cancer referred to the oncology ward, in the southeast of Iran. The Coping Health Inventory for Parents was used to measure parental coping strategies. Results showed that the highest and the lowest mean coping score belonged to the dimensions of social support and medical factors, respectively. Briefly, "Belief in God" and "Gratefulness for his Blessings" were the most helpful coping strategies among parents. Based on results of this study, it seems necessary for nurses to be aware of all aspects of human existence, including religion and spirituality as strong sources of power for parents to adapt with the illness of their child. Also, providing interventions to teach effective coping skills to parents may reduce their distress and improve their quality of life.

How organizational learning is associated with patient rights: a qualitative content analysis.

BACKGROUND: Nowadays, patient rights, particularly receiving favorable health care based on modern knowledge, informed consent, and privacy, are important issues in health care delivery systems. Organizational learning is considered an important factor influencing health care quality and patient rights. However, there is little evidence regarding this issue. OBJECTIVE: The present study was conducted to explore the role of organizational learning in patient rights from clinical nurses' viewpoint. DESIGN: This qualitative study was conducted through conventional content analysis. In total, 18 nurses who met the inclusion criteria participated in this study through purposive sampling with maximum variation. Data were gathered through 20 in-depth, semi-structured interviews, which continued until data saturation was achieved. Data collection also included constant and simultaneous comparative analyses. RESULTS: Data analysis led to four major themes: conservation of patient safety, providing favorable care, being the patient's advocate, and informing the patients. All the participants believed that organizational learning could play a vital role in respecting patient rights and interests. CONCLUSIONS: Participants believed that their efforts to conduct organizational learning, tried to improve respecting the patient rights via conservation of patient safety, trying to improve quality of care, being an advocate, and informing the patient. It would be appreciable if nursing managers honored the commitment of the nurses for learning, highlight their role as defenders of patient rights, and encourage them to initiate organizational learning.