Purpose: Increasing burden of cancer in Europe and socio-demographic trends imply that more cancerpatients will face high levels of dependency. Care dependency is often perceived as a distressing experienceby cancer patients who are concerned about becoming a burden to others. The experience of caredependence has been scarcely investigated in advanced cancer patients, especially in the hospital setting.This study aimed at describing advanced cancer patients' experiences of care dependence in hospital andof the factors perceived by them as contributing to decrease or increase this dependence.Methods: The study used a descriptive phenomenological approach based on Husserl's (1913) life worldperspective. Data collection and analysis followed Giorgi's (1997) five basic methodological steps. Datawere gathered by semi-structured interviews with thirteen advanced cancer adult inpatients of ateaching hospital. The interviews were audio-recorded and the recordings transcribed word for word.Results: Three themes emerged: ‘dependency discovers new meanings of life’, ‘active coping with dependency’and ‘the care cures the dependent person’. The essential meaning of care dependency was thepossibility to become aware of being a person as both an object and subject of care.Conclusion: Dependence appears as an experience with strong relational connotations, which enablepatients to see differently their life, themselves, the world and others. Dependency is revealed as anatural experience, only partly in accordance with previous studies. Deeper insight into the meaningpatients attach to care dependency can enable nurses to better meet the patient's needs, e.g. byimproving caring relationships with patients.
Nursing care dependence in the experiences of advanced cancer inpatients
Piredda M;Matarese M;De Marinis MG
2016-01-01
Abstract
Purpose: Increasing burden of cancer in Europe and socio-demographic trends imply that more cancerpatients will face high levels of dependency. Care dependency is often perceived as a distressing experienceby cancer patients who are concerned about becoming a burden to others. The experience of caredependence has been scarcely investigated in advanced cancer patients, especially in the hospital setting.This study aimed at describing advanced cancer patients' experiences of care dependence in hospital andof the factors perceived by them as contributing to decrease or increase this dependence.Methods: The study used a descriptive phenomenological approach based on Husserl's (1913) life worldperspective. Data collection and analysis followed Giorgi's (1997) five basic methodological steps. Datawere gathered by semi-structured interviews with thirteen advanced cancer adult inpatients of ateaching hospital. The interviews were audio-recorded and the recordings transcribed word for word.Results: Three themes emerged: ‘dependency discovers new meanings of life’, ‘active coping with dependency’and ‘the care cures the dependent person’. The essential meaning of care dependency was thepossibility to become aware of being a person as both an object and subject of care.Conclusion: Dependence appears as an experience with strong relational connotations, which enablepatients to see differently their life, themselves, the world and others. Dependency is revealed as anatural experience, only partly in accordance with previous studies. Deeper insight into the meaningpatients attach to care dependency can enable nurses to better meet the patient's needs, e.g. byimproving caring relationships with patients.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
