Gina Copp

Male Caregivers of Patients With Breast and Gynecologic Cancer: Experiences From Caring for Their Spouses and Partners

Background: There is considerable evidence demonstrating the negative effects of caregiving particularly in the areas of psychological well-being and quality of life of family caregivers of patients with cancer. However, there is little work on male caregivers’ subjective experience of caring for family members with cancer, and little is known on how caregivers experience the caring over time. Objective: The objective of the study was to explore male spouses’/partners’ experience of caring for their wives/partners with breast and gynecologic cancer over a 1-year period. Method: An exploratory longitudinal qualitative descriptive design using face-to-face interviews of 15 spouses/partners was used in this study. Content analysis of the transcribed data was conducted to extract significant categories and themes. Results: Varying degrees of interrelated cognitive, physical, and psychological impact were experienced by caregivers that extended to 12 months. Gender-specific attitudes prevented male caregivers from supporting their own self. Male caregivers dealt with problems that arose in the caregiving congruent with their masculinity, such as minimizing disruptions, focusing on tasks, and keeping their own stress to themselves. Conclusion: Male caregivers as a separate group with their own needs have not received much attention in the cancer literature, and their concerns and challenges may differ from those of female caregivers. Implications for Practice: Male caregivers’ concerns and challenges must be taken into consideration when planning appropriate interventions to support them in their caregiving role.

Frequent and difficult problems perceived by nurses caring for the dying in community, hospice and acute care settings.

A total of 167 practising nurses from three practice settings-community, hospice and acute care - were asked to identify the five most common problems encountered when caring for the dying and the five most difficult problems to manage. Nine main categories of problems were elicited, including physical, work-related, nurse-related, death-related and spiritual problems. Key categories have been selected for discussion in this paper. Specific differences in the responses obtained from the three practice settings may be related to differences in the ethos of care of the dying patient in each area, particularly between hospice/community care and acute care. The findings of the survey will serve as a basis for planning initiatives in education and research in palliative care nursing.

A telephone survey of the provision of palliative day care services

A telephone survey was conducted to gather preliminary data in order to identify the nature of palliative day care provision in the UK. A random sample of 131 day centres was taken from 17 regional locations in the UK, providing a 60% representation out of a total of 215 adult day care facilities. A combination of a structured and semistructured interview schedule was used to collect the data. The results obtained from this preliminary survey provided further information on the nature, range, and types of services that are currently provided by UK palliative day care centres; management and organizational issues; and the nature of common problems and care issues of patients attending day centres. Data from the study provided further information on the current status of day care services. The implications for future evaluative research are discussed, particularly in the area of the impact and cost-effectiveness of day care services and the potential work with regard to different models of service provision.