Needs of relatives of breast cancer patients: the perspectives of families and nurses.

PURPOSE: Breast cancer is not only a stressful event for those afflicted, but also for their family and friends. In Germany, attention and support from professional nurses is almost exclusively given to the patient. But even relatives require information and support in order to keep their anxiety levels low and strength up. The aim of this study is to survey those needs and the current level of satisfaction, as well as to ascertain which needs are perceived by nurses. METHOD: Data were collected in a German-wide descriptive cross-sectional study surveying 242 relatives and 356 nurses from 150 randomly chosen certified breast care centers between August 2008 and February 2009. Two questionnaires developed for this study were used. RESULTS: The findings indicate that relatives need above all a) security and trust, followed by b) partnership of care and c) emotional support. Regarding satisfaction, relatives consider the need for "security and trust" to be most satisfied. Least fulfilled were those for "partnership of care" and "emotional support". The nurses regarded the importance of most of the relatives' needs to be higher than the relatives themselves. Even the fulfillment of needs was over-estimated. CONCLUSIONS: The targeted and professional involvement of relatives in the care of breast cancer patients is still not common practice. An initial step toward better family nursing is viewing families as an integral part of the patient and intentionally planning contact.