Emotional support given by ward-based nurses to sarcoma patients.

Background: Cancer patients value emotional support but may encounter difficulties in accessing appropriate sources of support. This study explored the emotional support, as perceived by patients, that ward nurses give to sarcoma patients at a large cancer centre.

Methods: A purposive sample of five sarcoma patients who had experienced numerous admissions throughout their chemotherapy took part. These participants were interviewed using a method based on the critical incident technique, which utilised face-to-face semi-structured interviews.

Results: The data produced from the interviews contained descriptions of incidents where ward nurses had been either successful or unsuccessful in providing emotional support to participants. Six themes emerged which highlighted the areas of behaviour that were important to the participants. The recognition of their feelings and needs was a major theme, including reference to the significance of ward nurse behaviour in providing emotional support on their first admission to the unit. Evidence emerged where nurses had successfully aided patients. Conversely other examples demonstrated a negative impact on the participants' emotional well-being, upsetting them and proving additional stress.

Conclusion: It was concluded from the study that ward nurses have an important role in providing emotional support to sarcoma patients. Whilst this study was small, it has shown the successful use of a methodology based on the critical incident technique. The findings have been used to aid nurses on the unit to reflect on their roles in caring for patients with sarcomas.