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.

Symptom experience in patients with gynecological cancers: the development of symptom cIusters through patient narratives.

The vast majority of the increasing cancer literature on physical and psychological symptom clusters is quantitative, attempting either to model clusters through statistical techniques or to test priori clusters for their strength of relationship. Narrative symptom clusters can be particularly sensitive outcomes that can generate conceptually meaningful hypotheses for symptom cluster research. We conducted a study to explore the explanation of patients about the development and coexistence of symptoms and how patients at tempted to self-manage them.

Preparing for practice: how well are practitioners prepared for teamwork.

This article reports on the findings of a study that aimed to explore how relevant initial training is in relation to teamwork, and to explore the perceptions of newly qualified practitioners about their confidence to work as a member of a team. A cross-sectional postal survey was used to ascertain the views of nurses, social workers, occupational therapists and physiotherapists who had been qualified between six months and two years prior to the survey, and had qualified at one of three London universities. Fifty questionnaires were sent out to each professional group (a sample of 200 overall) and there was a 43% response rate.

Preparation for cancer care: perceptions of newly qualified health care professionals.

The present paper is derived from a larger survey which examined the perceptions of recently qualified health care professionals' experience on evidence-based practice, team working and cancer care. This study reports solely on the findings relating to cancer care. The perceptions of recently qualified professionals in relation to their initial educational input on issues such as confidence, anxiety, communication skills and practice in cancer care as well as adequacy of support, professional supervision and use of reflection were gathered using a cross-sectional postal survey design.

Preparing for professional practice: how well does professional training equip health and social care practitioners to engage in evidence-based practice?

This paper reports on the findings of a study that aimed to explore how relevant initial training is in relation to evidence-based practice, and explore the perceptions of recently qualified practitioners about their confidence to engage in evidence-based practice. A cross-sectional postal survey was used to ascertain the views of nurses, social workers, occupational therapists and physiotherapists who had been qualified no longer than two years prior to the survey, and had qualified at one of three London Universities. Fifty questionnaires were sent out to each professional group (a sample of 200 overall) and there was a 43% response rate achieved.

Supportive care: experiences of cancer patients.

The aim of this study was to explore how cancer patients with progressive disease perceived and experienced supportive care at the different stages of their cancer journey and to compare this to the perceptions of health care professionals. It was a single centre study using qualitative data obtained from two focus group interviews in an independent centre for specialist palliative care. Eight patients attending the centre were interviewed in two focus groups to ascertain their views on the supportive care that they had experienced during the course of their illness, focusing on: time of diagnosis, acute treatment phase and palliative care phase.

Pre-registration nursing students' experience of caring for cancer patients.

The preparation of nurses caring for cancer patients remains a topical subject. The recent emphasis on the preparation of an effective and informed workforce for cancer care at all nursing levels is significant, particularly as the majority of previous studies have traditionally focused on post-registration preparation of qualified nurses. Currently, there is limited information on the preparation of pre-registered nursing students and little is known about the experiences of these students, especially during their initial exposure to cancer patients.