Mehtap Tan

Social support and coping in Turkish patients with cancer.

This study was conducted with the aim of determining the relationship between social support and coping strategies in cancer patients and that between the sociodemographic and medical properties of patients. One hundred forty-eight cancer patients admitted to an oncology and hematology clinic in Erzurum were studied. The data were collected using a questionnaire that determines sociodemographic features: the Ways of Coping Inventory and the Perceived Social Support From Family Scale. Among the coping strategies, patients were found to use unconfident approach (emotion focused) (16.8 ± 5.5) the most and seeking social support (problem focused) (8.3 ± 2.6) the least. Mean ± SD score for perceived social support from the family was 15.9 ± 2.7. Significant correlations were found among social support and coping strategies. We found a negative correlation between social support and emotion-focused coping strategies (unconfident approach and submissive approach). As the social support scores increased, scores regarding emotion-focused coping strategies decreased. On the other hand, there was a positive correlation between social support and problem-focused coping strategies (confident approach, optimistic approach, and seeking social support); that is, mean social support scores increased as the mean problem-focused coping strategy scores increased. This result implies that families have important roles for patients and should be educated and supported by healthcare professionals in approaching patients in a knowing way. In addition to the results, this study could be used to help develop nursing interventions and efficient coping strategies. Patients may then be able to use the latter to solve symptom-associated distresses, consequently enhancing their quality of life.

Loneliness, depression, and social support of patients with cancer and their caregivers.

Loneliness is a significant psychosocial concern for patients with cancer, and depression may be an antecedent to loneliness. To date, no studies have directly addressed the relationship of loneliness, depression, and social support among Turkish patients with cancer and their caregivers. The emotional responses that result from a cancer diagnosis vary and may include anxiety, anger, frustration, or depression. Because of the unexpected demands and emotions thrust on them, the caregivers of patients with cancer may be just as likely to experience loneliness or depression following a cancer diagnosis. As a result, this study sought to examine that relationship among a sample of 60 patients with cancer and 60 caregivers.

The Influence of Music Therapy on Perceived Stressors and Anxiety Levels of Hemodialysis Patients

Background: This study was designed as a pretest–posttest control group experiment. The aim was to identify the influence of music therapy on the perceived stressors and anxiety levels of hemodialysis (HD) patients. Methods: The data were collected in HD Units of Ataturk University Yakutiye Research Hospital and Regional Education, Application and Research Hospital between February and March. The study population consisted of 104 patients who received dialysis. Since four patients refused to participate, the study was completed with 100 patients. While one-half of the patients formed a control group, the other half consisted of an experimental group. Patient introduction form, Hemodialysis Stressor Scale, and State–Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) forms were used to collect the data. HSS was used to identify the stressors perceived by the patients, and STAI form was used to classify anxiety levels. Data were analyzed by using t-test and chi-square test. Results: It was found that differences between average pretest and posttest scores of perceived psychosocial, physiological, and total stressors were statistically significant. It was also found that differences between average pretherapy and posttherapy test scores of state and trait anxiety were statistically significant. Conclusions: Music therapy was influential in reducing anxiety levels and perceived stressors of HD patients. It is concluded that music therapy—as an independent nursing initiative—can be used to help in fulfilling the physical, emotional, and psychological requirements of patients.

Hopelessness, Depression and Social Support with End of Life Turkish Cancer Patients

BACKGROUND This study was performed to evaluate relationships between different demographic variables and hopelessness and depression in end of life Turkish cancer patients. This study was a descriptive survey with repeated measures conducted a university hospital in the city of Erzurum, in the eastern part of Turkey. The study enrolled 216 patients undergoing palliative treatment at the hospital. MATERIALS AND METHODS Data were collected using questionnaires (demographic questionnaire, Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS), Beck Depression Scale (BDS) and analyzed for demographic and disease-related variable effects on hopelessness and depression. RESULTS Th hopelessness score was significantly high in female, illiterate, married, and living in rural areas cancer patients. Both hopelessness and depression scores were significantly higher with longer disease duration, receiving radiotherapy treatment, and having metastatic disease. CONCLUSIONS These findings demonstrate the coexistence of the physical, psychological, and cognitive problems faced by patients with cancer. Nurses can conduct brief screening assessments to identify patients with probable distress and and psychosocial support, as well as referrals to support services.

Levels of mobbing perception among nurses in Eastern Turkey

PURPOSE This is a descriptive and comparative study of levels of mobbing perception among nurses, causes and perpetrators of mobbing, reactions to and factors affecting mobbing. METHOD Data for the study were collected from a sample of 180 Turkish nurses between July 2007 and January 2008 using a three-part questionnaire. FINDINGS Nurses were frequently subjected to mobbing. Younger nurses, nurses with less institutional and professional experience, nurses with lower levels of education, and nurses working in internal medicine clinics and night shifts reported higher levels of mobbing. Nurses reported their managers as the most frequent perpetrators of mobbing, and bad working conditions as the most important cause of mobbing. CONCLUSION Many participants reported that they had come to accept mobbing incidents and did not lodge any complaints prior to the study. However, they claimed that they will not tolerate mobbing any longer, and will lodge verbal and written complaints.

The effect of acupressure application on chemotherapy-induced nausea, vomiting, and anxiety in patients with breast cancer.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of acupressure applied to the pericardium 6 (P6 or neiguan) acupuncture point on chemotherapy-induced nausea, vomiting, and anxiety in patients with breast cancer. METHOD The study was conducted using a quasi-experimental model with a control group. It included a total of 64 patients with stages 1-3 breast cancer who received cycle two and more advanced chemotherapy in an ambulatory chemotherapy unit. There were 32 patients in the experimental group and 32 patients in the control group. Acupressure was applied to the P6 acupuncture point of patients in the experimental group with the help of a wristband. A Patient Information Form, the Beck Anxiety Inventory, and the Index of Nausea, Vomiting and Retching were employed to collect the data. RESULTS It was determined that the mean nausea, vomiting, and retching scores, the total (experience, occurrence, and distress) scores, and the mean anxiety scores for patients to whom acupressure was applied at the P6 acupuncture point were statistically significantly lower compared with the scores of patients in the control group. SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS The efficacy of applying acupressure was demonstrated. We determined that applying acupressure at the P6 point is effective in decreasing chemotherapy-induced nausea, vomiting, and anxiety in patients with breast cancer. Further research with more subjects is needed.

Symptoms of patients with lung cancer undergoing chemotherapy and coping strategies.

Background: Lung cancer (LC) is a major health problem throughout the world. There are few studies in Turkey on symptom distress and coping strategies of patients with LC. Objective: This study was conducted to find the relationship between the physical and psychological symptoms of patients with LC undergoing chemotherapy and their coping strategies. Methods: A total of 46 patients with LC who were undergoing chemotherapy in the clinics of hematology and oncology were included in the study. Data were collected using a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Symptom Distress Scale, Ways of Coping Inventory, and Brief Symptom Inventory. Results: The mean score for the physical symptoms was 22.39 (SD, 7.55). The highest scores were found for symptoms of fatigue (2.15 [SD, 0.81]) and pain (2.02 [SD, 0.99]). The highest scores were found to be those for somatization and anxiety in the Brief Symptom Inventory (11.45 [SD, 4.60] and 5.84 [SD, 2.38], respectively). The most common coping strategy was submissive approach (emotion focused) (11.73 [SD, 2.60]), and the least common strategy was seeking social support (problem focused) (6.60 [SD, 2.92]). Conclusions: The study showed that Turkish patients with LC often experience some physical symptoms, particularly pain and fatigue as well as the psychological symptoms including somatization and anxiety. As for the coping strategy, they commonly preferred emotion-focused coping strategies. Implications for Practice: The results highlight the importance of symptom management, as well as the need for tailor-made clinical interventions to maximize effective symptom management in Turkish patients with LC.

An analysis of caregiver burden of patients with hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis

Since caregivers have roles and responsibilities in all phases from the diagnosis of the disease to discharge and homecare, their care burdens increase. The problems experienced by caregivers, whose care burden increase and accordingly whose life quality is deteriorated, complicate the treatment‐receiving patients adaptation to the disease. This study was performed to determine the burden to primary caregivers of patients undergoing dialysis. This descriptive study was conducted with the family caregivers of 114 patients from Erzurum Ataturk Universitys Medical Faculty Nephrology Department: 54 were relatives of patients receiving hemodialysis and 60 were relatives of patients receiving peritoneal dialysis during August to December 2014. The percentage of the patients with low levels of caregiver burden is 13% in the hemodialysis group, while it is 35% in the peritoneal dialysis group. These findings are statistically significant. To conclude, chronic diseases affect not only patients, but also their relatives who care for them. Nursing care needs to include both patients and their relatives and support them. It is hoped that this study will guide nursing care in this direction.

Burnout levels of hemodialysis nurses

Abstract Background: Previous studies have found significant stressors experienced by nurses working in hemodialysis units. The purpose of this study was to determine the burnout levels of hemodialysis nurses working in hemodialysis units and their relation with some sociodemographic variables. Methods: The study was conducted between July 2012 and Sept 2012 in hemodialysis units of four hospitals, including one university, one public and two private hospitals, in the province of Erzurum. The population of the study consisted of 32 nurses rendering service in hemodialysis units of the related hospitals. Information forms, which were prepared by researchers in accordance with the literature, and aimed at determining the personal characteristics of nurses and Maslach Burnout Inventory were used for the data collection. Results: Examining mean scores obtained by nurses from the Maslach Burnout Inventory, it is observed that they scored 17.07 ± 8.29 from subscale of emotional exhaustion, 5.89 ± 4.13 from subscale of depersonalization and 20.64 ± 4.10 from subscale of personal accomplishment. Conclusion: The results of the study revealed that nurses working in hemodialysis units experience a medium-level burnout in terms of subscales of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a high-level burnout in terms of the subscale of personal accomplishment.

Clinical nurses' knowledge and attitudes toward patients with epilepsy.

BACKGROUND Insufficient knowledge and negative attitudes of clinical nurses regarding epilepsy may affect the quality of health care for patients with epilepsy. AIM The aim of this study was to evaluate knowledge and attitudes of nurses working at a university hospital located in eastern Turkey regarding epilepsy. METHOD The descriptive study was conducted with 85 nurses working at the internal medicine clinics at Yakutiye Research Hospital in Erzurum, Turkey in March 2014. The data comprised the personal information form, epilepsy knowledge scale, and epilepsy attitude scale. RESULTS Clinical nurses obtained a mean score of 12.62±2.77 on the epilepsy knowledge scale and 55.43±6.59 on the epilepsy attitude scale. There was a significant difference between the educational status of nurses and mean scores on the epilepsy knowledge scale and epilepsy attitude scale (P<0.05). There was a positive, significant correlation between knowledge scores and attitude scores of clinical nurses regarding epilepsy (r=0.227, P<0.05). In addition, more than half of nurses (57.6%) knew that epileptic seizures would not pose a danger to other people. Unfortunately, approximately one-third of clinical nurses (36.5%) believed that epilepsy was incurable. CONCLUSION As a result of the study, it was determined that nurses had a moderate level of knowledge regarding epilepsy, and they generally displayed a positive attitude, but it was not sufficient. In addition, more knowledge was associated with a more positive attitude.