Psychosocial consequences after screening of abdominal aortic aneurysm among 65 year old men.

BACKGROUND: In order to reduce the incidence of abdominal aortic aneurysm rupture and mortality, the Swedish Medical Council has introduced a national abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) screening program that offers ultrasound examination of 65-year-old men. Screening programmes of AAA may confer both benefits and harms. The study aim was to investigate the psychosocial consequences of AAA screening among men with screening-detected AAA as compared to men identified as AAA-negative at screening, using an AAA-specific questionnaire. METHODS: This cross-sectional study investigated the psychosocial consequences of AAA screening measured with a condition-specific questionnaire. This study focused on the Experience of the Diagnosis and the Screening Procedure in terms of Anxiety, Sense of Dejection and Existential Values. One hundred and fifty-eight men with AAA (63%) and 275 with normal aorta size (55%) completed the diagnosis-specific questionnaire. RESULTS: Ninety-six percent of men with screening detected AAA did not regret the screening examination, the corresponding figure for controls being 99.6%. Seventy percent of AAA patients were surprised that something was wrong in their body. Some (85%) of men with AAA were current or previous smokers, about half of them (45%) felt guilty about it and 78% of the current smokers in the AAA group had considered stopping smoking. Both groups considered changing lifestyle, although at a higher rate (32%) among AAA cases than controls (20%), with differences both in intention to change their ways to exercise (p = 0.019) and food intake (p = 0.001). Intergroup differences were identified for the majority of items as captured by the questionnaire where men identified with AAA reported more negative psycho-social consequences for all evaluated items except for the items: Regret of the screening examination (p = 0.069) and feeling terrified (p = 0.10). Fifty-one percent of AAA cases stated that they feared rupture, and 12% were anxious about rupture during sexual activity whereas 57% were worried about rupture during intense physical activity. CONCLUSION: Men who were diagnosed with AAA reported more psychosocial consequences compared to controls; still only a minority of AAA cases reported psychosocial consequences in greater occurrence. To some degree, men with AAA also feared rupture during various types of activities. There appears to be a need for improved patient information and easy access to caregivers for men with screening-detected AAA, which might help to reduce psychosocial consequences associated with the diagnosis.

Life is about so much more: Patients' experiences of health, well-being, and recovery after operation of abdominal aortic aneurysm with open and endovascular treatment-A prospective study.

Different surgical treatments for abdominal aortic aneurysm can lead to different perceptions of health and well-being. The aim of this study was to describe patients' well-being, sense of coherence (SOC), and experiences of surgery after open and endovascular treatment one month and one and 2 years after the procedure. Seventy six patients participated (40 open repair; 36 endovascular aneurysm repair). The study was conducted using the SOC questionnaire, and specific questions about patients' experiences of the surgical treatment and well-being. After 2 years, no patient regretted the operation or considered it to be the most difficult experience they had ever had. Twenty percent of the patients were worried about complications one month after the operation. Both groups experienced difficulty in returning to normal activity after surgery at one month. At one and 2 years after the surgery, patients in both groups stated that it was other things in life that affected their well-being. The endovascular aneurysm repair group reported a significant decrease in SOC from baseline until one year (P = .012) and 2 years (P = .033). The open repair group reported a significant decrease after one year (0.033). The operation did not affect patients' way of thinking about the disease. Patients in both groups stated that it was other circumstances in life that affected their well-being one and 2 years after the treatment, which could indicate that long-term follow-up would not be necessary from a patient perspective. The operation affects patients' well-being a short time after the operation.

Swedish Version of the Distress Thermometer: Validity Evidence in Patients With Colorectal Cancer.

Background: The objective of this study was to validate the NCCN Distress Thermometer (DT), including the accompanying Problem List (PL), in a Swedish population of patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer (CRC). Methods: A total of 488 patients diagnosed with CRC completed the DT/PL and EORTC core quality-of-life questionnaire (QLQ-C30) before surgery. Construct validity of the PL was analyzed using a confirmatory factor analysis. Internal consistency reliability (ICR) was tested using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Correlations between the reported PL areas and QLQ-C30 function scales were used to explore convergent validity. Discriminant validity was examined by evaluating associations between the DT and QLQ-C30 measures of overall health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Results: Findings showed that the Swedish translation of the DT/PL is consistent with the original English version. The DT has good ICR, with the total number of reported problems significantly correlating with DT scores (r=0.67; P<.001). Analysis of convergent validity indicated that the PL areas significantly correlated with QLQ-C30 function scales, with emotional problems showing the highest correlation (r=0.76; P<.001), and item-level correlation analyses showed significant correlations between symptoms. There was also good discriminant validity between the DT and the QLQ-C30 in terms of HRQoL, including overall health status (r=-0.49; P<.001) and overall quality of life (r=-0.57; P<.001). Furthermore, there was good discriminant validity between the DT and QLQ-C30 regarding poor, moderate, and excellent HRQoL. Conclusions: These findings provide validity evidence regarding the DT, including the PL. Findings also show that the DT has good potential for screening distress-related practical, family, emotional, and physical problems during the cancer trajectory in Swedish-speaking patients. Additionally, the DT seems to be an effective screening tool to detect patients with poor, moderate, and excellent HRQoL.

Communicative and pedagogical strategies in nurses' and surgeons' discharge consultations with patients undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer.

AIM: To describe the structure, content, and the communicative and pedagogic strategies in discharge consultations between patients and professionals after colorectal cancer surgery. BACKGROUND: Both nurses and surgeons play an important role in preparing patients for discharge from hospital following surgery for colorectal cancer (CRC). DESIGN: An explorative quantitative and qualitative research based on analysis of transcriptions of 13 audio-taped discharge consultations between patients and nurses and patients and surgeons conducted between January - March 2012. METHODS: In the quantitative analysis, the structure of each consultation was described in phases, subtopics, and main topics. The proportion of the main topics in relation to the whole conversation was counted in percentages. The text from the consultations was then analysed qualitatively with the support from Ricoeur's theory of interpretation. RESULTS: The language constituted the essence in the consultations regardless of other communicative and pedagogical strategies. The pedagogic strategies used were explanation model, information transfer, task orientation, and dialogue. Topics occurring in the consultations were Operation, Symptoms, Medication, Thromboprophylaxis, Recovery after surgery, Bowel function, Spreading, and Follow-up. The surgeons and nurses used similar topics, but the surgeons used more communicative and pedagogic strategies. CONCLUSION: Language was fundamental for communication and independent of the communicative and pedagogical strategies. Using preparedness communication more consistent in discharge consultation can help patients to better understand the recovery process after CRC surgery and regain control over their life. It is important that the consultations build on the patient as an active and learning person.

Prepared for surgery - Communication in nurses' preoperative consultations with patients undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer after a person-centred intervention.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To describe preoperative communication after a person-centred intervention in nurses' consultations with patients undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer. BACKGROUND: Patients all over the world scheduled for surgery are referred to preoperative consultations with healthcare professionals. The goal is to assess the risk of perioperative complications, improving quality of care and enabling patients to be prepared for surgery and recovery. A person-centred intervention was developed, which consisted of an interactive written patient education material and person-centred communication. DESIGN: An explorative quantitative and qualitative study based on 18 audio-taped transcriptions. METHODS: Eighteen patients preoperative nursing consultations at three Swedish hospitals were analysed quantitatively regarding structure: words, time, phases, questions, discursive space, and qualitatively: topics and how the person-centred communication appeared in the consultations. RESULTS: The median time for consultations was 27 min (range 13-64 min). The nurses used two-thirds of the discursive space in the consultations with the patients. The patient education material was used as a support to structure the consultation and discuss sensitive and difficult issues. Seven topics were discussed during the consultation. Two different approaches to communication were identified: Talking with the patient versus Talking to the patient. Talking with the patient (seen as person-centred communication) was defined as: listening to the narrative and confirming each other, raising difficult topics, seeing each other as persons, building on strengths and resources, preparing for surgery and asking open questions. CONCLUSION: Ways of communicating influence how the preoperative consultation develops. Talking with the patient could be seen as person-centred communication in the preoperative care, and when using this approach, the intervention purpose of person-centred communication was met. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Education in person-centred communication is important for nurses to improve their skills in performing preoperative consultations.

Safety Hazards During Intrahospital Transport: A Prospective Observational Study.

OBJECTIVE: To identify, classify, and describe safety hazards during the process of intrahospital transport of critically ill patients. DESIGN: A prospective observational study. Data from participant observations of the intrahospital transport process were collected over a period of 3 months. SETTING: The study was undertaken at two ICUs in one university hospital. PATIENTS: Critically ill patients transported within the hospital by critical care nurses, unlicensed nurses, and physicians. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Content analysis was performed using deductive and inductive approaches. We detected a total of 365 safety hazards (median, 7; interquartile range, 4-10) during 51 intrahospital transports of critically ill patients, 80% of whom were mechanically ventilated. The majority of detected safety hazards were assessed as increasing the risk of harm, compromising patient safety (n = 204). Using the System Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety, we identified safety hazards related to the work system, as follows: team (n = 61), tasks (n = 83), tools and technologies (n = 124), environment (n = 48), and organization (n = 49). Inductive analysis provided an in-depth description of those safety hazards, contributing factors, and process-related outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that intrahospital transport is a hazardous process for critically ill patients. We have identified several factors that may contribute to transport-related adverse events, which will provide the opportunity for the redesign of systems to enhance patient safety.

Topics and structure in preoperative nursing consultations with patients undergoing colorectal cancer surgery.

BACKGROUND: The preoperative education, which occurs in preoperative patient consultations, is an important part of the surgical nurse's profession. These consultations may be the building blocks of a partnership that facilitates communication between patient and nurse. AIM: The aim of the study was to describe topics and structure and documentation in preoperative nursing consultations with patients undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer. METHOD: The study was based on analysis of consultations between seven patients and nurses at a Swedish university hospital. The preplanned preoperative consultations were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. The structure of the consultations was described in terms of phases and the text was analysed according to a manifest content analysis RESULTS: The consultations were structured on an agenda that was used variously and communicating different topics in an equally varied manner. Seven main topics were found: Health status, Preparation before surgery, Discovery, Tumour, Operation, Symptoms and Recovery after surgery. The topic structure disclosed a high number of subtopics. The main topics 'Discovery', 'Tumour' and 'Symptoms' were only raised by patients and occupied only 11% of the discursive space. Documentation was sparse and included mainly task-oriented procedures rather than patients' worries and concerns. CONCLUSION: There was no clear structure regarding preoperative consultation purpose and content. Using closed questions instead of open is a hindrance of developing a dialogue and thus patient participation. Preoperative consultation practice needs to be strengthened to include explicit communication of the consultations' purpose and agenda, with nurses actively discussing and responding to patients' concerns and sensitive issues. The results of the study facilitate the development of methods and structure to support person-centred communication where the patient is given space to get help with the difficult issues he/she may have when undergoing surgery.