• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.170-179
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• 2016

Purpose: This study examined self-efficacy, self-care behavior, posttraumatic growth, and quality of life in cancer patients and their levels by disease characteristics groups to identify patient groups that require psychosocial intervention. Methods: We surveyed 107 patients using a structured questionnaire about the four factors and analyzed the factors by stratifying the patients by the period after the cancer diagnosis, by stage and by current treatment status. Results: The mean score for self-efficacy was 37.78, and that for self-care behavior 49.96. Patients who were diagnosed less than one year ago scored higher on medication, a sub-category of self-care behavior, than the post-diagnosis period of 1~2 year group. The score was higher in the currently-treated group than the follow-up and distant metastasis groups. For posttraumatic growth, the mean was 56.17, and the factor was higher in the 1~2 year post-diagnosis group after than the less than one year group. The score was higher in the follow-up group than the currently-treated group. With regard to quality of life, the mean score was 25.79, and no significant correlation was found with disease characteristics. Conclusion: A shorter post-diagnosis period increased self-care behavior, and the greatest posttraumatic growth was reported by the 1~2 year post-diagnosis group. It may be necessary to provide cancer patients with an education program and other strategies less than one year after the diagnosis to improve self-efficacy and self-care behavior. To promote post-traumatic growth, it may be helpful to provide patients with psychosocial intervention within two years after the diagnosis.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.125-135
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• 2002

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of depression, discomfort, spirituality, physical care, and opioid use on pain with terminally ill cancer patients in the hospice units. Method : The convenient sample of this study consisted of 58 terminally ill cancer patients at three hospice units in university-affiliated hospitals. Patients were interviewed with structured questionnaires. The data was analyzed using ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficient, and multivariate multiple regression. Result : The results of this study were as follows : 1) The mean age of the participants was approximately 57 years. Regarding diagnosis, stomach cancer showed the highest frequency (24.1%), followed by lung cancer (17.2%) and rectal cancer (13.8%). Regarding motivation for admission to the hospice unit, the majority of the participants indicated pain control (67.2%), followed by spiritual care (39.7%), and symptom relief (27.6%). 2) The mean pain level measured by VAS was 5.13 (${\pm}2.61$). Regarding pain type, the highest pain frequency the participants experienced was deep pain (53.4%), followed by multiple pain (20.7%), intestinal pain (17.3%), and neurogenic (5.2%) and superficial pain (3.4%). 3) Regarding the factors influencing pain, the pain level was significantly affected by the depression level (P<0.01) and the opioid use (P<0.01). Conclusion, In summary, the higher the level of pain the terminally ill cancer patents had the higher the depression level as well as the opioid use. Thus, health care professionals need to continuously provide holistic care for them to die comfortably.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.145-155
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• 2007

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe and to analyze real communication about a patient's discomfort between a patient with cancer and a nurse. Method: A dialogue analysis method was utilized. Fifteen patients and 4 nurses who participated in this research gave permission to be videotaped. The data was collected from January, 3 to February 28, 2006. Results: The communication process consisted of 4 functional stages: 'introduction stage', 'assessment stage', 'intervention stage' and 'final stage'. After trying to analyze pattern reconstruction in the 'assessment stage' and 'intervention stage', sequential patterns were identified. In the assessment stage, if the nurse lead the communication, the sequential pattern was 'assessment question-answer' and if the patient lead the communication, it was 'complaint-response'. In the intervention stage, the sequential pattern was 'nursing intervention-acceptance'. Conclusion: This research suggests conversation patterns between patients with cancer and nurses. Therefore, this study will provide insight for nurses in cancer units by better understanding communication behaviors.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Fundamentals of Nursing
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.301-311
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• 2008

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the factors related to the functioning of family caregivers of patients with cancer. Method: Data were collected by questionnaires from 124 patient-family caregiver dyads at a hospital in Seoul. Data collection was done between August, 2004 and January, 2005. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficients and stepwise multiple regression. Results: The mean score for family functioning was 68.73. Family functioning showed a significant negative correlation with burden of family caregiver and performance status of patients with cancer, and a significant positive correlation with previous relationship between the patient with cancer and caregiver. The most powerful predictor of family functioning was the relationship between the patient and caregiver. The relationship between the patient with cancer and caregiver, and performance status of the patient accounted for 25.4% of the variance of family functioning. Conclusion: The results showed that the relationship between patients with cancer and caregivers and performance status of patients with cancer were significant factors influencing family functioning in family caregiver of patients with cancer.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.107-122
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• 2009

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify nursing interventions frequently used with cancer patients. Nursing records from 5 general hospitals for patients with stomach, liver, lung or colon cancer were analyzed. Method: A descriptive study methodology was used and nursing records for 15 patients in each disease category at each hospital, who were admitted and discharged during June 2007 were analyzed. Results: Five domains of NIC were found and the physiological(basic) domain was most frequent (31.52%). Twenty two classes of NIC were identified with risk management for safety being most frequent (22.49%). For the 119 nursing interventions identified, the most frequent was pain management with 7,827 (12.31%), followed by prevention of falls (11.76%), surveillance (6.79%) and wound care (5.12%). Nursing activities of pain management and prevention of falls were comparable to activities listed in literature on guidelines for evidence based and best practices in nursing care. Eight of the 17 nursing activities for pain management, and 9 of 14 for fall prevention were consistent with these guidelines. Conclusion: In this study, nursing interventions were found to be focused on physical care, monitoring patients' condition and education. We have to develop diverse nursing interventions and a convenient recording process.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.127-135
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• 2016

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to discover the structure of the lived experience of suffering of families with cancer patients to develop a theoretical foundation that can be used to reinforce nursing practice for cancer patients and their families. Methods: A qualitative study was performed using Parse's research method. Participants were four families with cancer patients. From February 2009 through April 2010, data were collected via dialogical-engagement between participants and the researcher and analyzed through the extraction-synthesis and heuristic interpretation processes. Results: The structure was identified as follows. The families' lived experience of suffering was a process through which they experienced a psychological shock of cancer diagnosis and difficulties associated with reshuffled roles among family members, and made efforts to care for the patients. Conclusion: Amidst sadness, pain, anxiety, guilt, fear and agony, the families focused on the human-health-universe aspect and found meanings of their experiences as love, triumphant, responsibility and hope. As such, the study results suggest that the suffering of families with cancer patients is a human becoming process of positive transformation.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.125-134
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• 2002

Purpose: The objectives for this study were to identify the factors that correlate with appraisal of illness and to explore what variables are predictive of cancer patients primary caregivers' cognitive appraisal for stress. Method: The subjects were selected by convenient sampling and 130 caregivers who completed a questionnaire. Measures used in this study included the Family Inventory of Resources for Management, Social Support Index, Family Crisis Oriented Personal Evaluation Scales and Family Coping Coherence Index. Pearson correlation was used to identify the relationship among factors and multiple regression was used to determine the individual and cumulative effect of potential predictors on the caregivers' appraisal. Results: Patient's level of activity, severity of the disease, quality of relation between patient and caregiver, caregiver's subjective health status, economic status, family resources and coping were significantly correlated. Among the variables, coping, family resources, economic status and quality of relation between caregiver and patient predicted 49.2 percent of the variance in appraisal of caregivers' stress condition. Conclusion: These findings suggest that coping mechanisms and family resources are important for positive appraisal. Nurses should provide adequate nursing care for the primary caregiver about professional care information and supportive counseling.

• Asian Oncology Nursing
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.147-156
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• 2001

This study was designed to describe the most common and most intense demands of illness in people with cancer in outpatient settings. The sample for this study who were at least 21 years old and had been treated for cancer. They recruited from outpatient setting in Seoul and Kyungsangnam-do. The questionnaire was a Likert type 5 point scale with 55 items on four need categories; informational, physical care emotional care and socioeconomic care. There were significant differences in degree of care need according to gender, religion, marital status, economic status, public insurance status, and the past regimen. In conclusion, emotional needs perceived by patients with cancer and family members were higher than the others. Based upon this result, it is recommended that the research to compare needs between cancer patients who have a same illness and family member are necessary.

• Asian Oncology Nursing
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.136-144
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• 2009

Purpose: This study was to compare the differences in self-care behaviors between the group with fighting spirit and the group with helplessness. Methods: This study utilized a cross-sectional descriptive design. A total of 97 ambulatory cancer patients completed the Mental Adjustment to Cancer (MAC) scale by Watson et al. (1988) and Self Care Behaviors Scale by Oh et al. (1997). The data was analysed using frequency, percentage, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation and stepwise multiple regression. Results: Fighting spirit group were found to conduct self-care behaviors more compared to the helplessness group (t=3.346, p<.0001). The score of the self-care behaviors in fighting spirit group was 4.42 out of a total score of 7 and that of helplessness group was 3.85. There was a significant difference (p<.0001) in self-care behaviors according to the level of faith and performance status. Fighting spirit ($R^2$=0.120, p<.0001), performance status ($R^2$=0.078, p=.001) were predictive of self-care behaviors. Conclusion: Cancer patients' mental adjustment is correlated with the degree of self-care behaviors. Having fighting spirit is one of the most adaptive techniques that cancer patients could use in adjustment to the life with cancer.

• Journal of Korean Academic Society of Home Health Care Nursing
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.139-149
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• 2012

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to provide the basic data required for quality improvement of home health care nursing and development of nursing services for cancer patients by examining the frequency of practices, level of service needs and satisfaction for nursing services. Methods: The subjects were 231 patients who agreed in participating on this study and were receiving home health care nursing services by the home health care advanced practice nurse from two national hospitals and four subsidiary general hospitals, located in Seoul from September 30, 2008 to February 28, 2009. Data were analyzed by frequency, percentage, t-test and ANOVA, using SPSS WIN 12.0 program. Results: The most frequent practices were 'checking vital sign' and 'explaining what patient want to know.' Total service need had an average of 3.03 point and emotional domain showed the highest average of 3.44 point. Total satisfaction had an average of 4.23 point and satisfaction along diseases had the highest average of 3.65 point in case of non-metastasis cancer. Conclusion: The subjects were highly satisfied with home health care nursing services which gave positive effect to them. It will be helpful to give cancer patients physical and spiritual care complementally when home health care nurses provide nursing services.