Background: The objectives of this study were to compare the importance of components of a good death among cancer patients, the general population, oncologists, and oncology nurses, and explore which patients preferred "fighting against cancer."
Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional anonymous self-reported survey of cancer patients who visited a radiation oncology outpatient clinic, oncologists, and oncology nurses at the Tokyo University Hospital and a random sample of the general population in the Tokyo metropolitan area. The outcomes were 18 previously developed components of a good death in Japanese cancer care consisting of 57 attributes.
Results: Three hundred ten patients, 353 subjects from the general population, 109 oncologists, and 366 oncology nurses participated. The desire to "fight against cancer" was highly significantly different between patients and oncologists (effect size [ES] = -1.40; P = 0.001) and patients and oncology nurses (ES = -1.12; P = 0.001). "Physical and cognitive control" was, similarly, highly significantly different between patients and oncologists (ES = -1.30; P = 0.001) and patients and oncology nurses (ES = -1.06; P = 0.001). Patients who emphasized "maintaining hope and pleasure" (P = 0.0001), "unawareness of death" (P = 0.0001), and "good relationship with family" (P = 0.004) favored "fighting against cancer." The patients, however, who emphasized "physical and psychological comfort" did not significantly favor "fighting against cancer" (P = 0.004).
Conclusion: The importance of good death components differed between groups. Medical professionals should be aware of the diversity of values surrounding death and assess the patient's values and discuss them to support his or her quality of life. In addition, the development of care and a medical/social system to maintain hope and pleasure after failure of anticancer treatment is necessary.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00520-014-2323-z | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Factors influencing shared decision-making on hospital wards as perceived by healthcare professionals: A qualitative study.
Appl Nurs Res
February 2025
Nursing Science, Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, 3584 CX Utrecht, the Netherlands; School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Southampton, UK.
Objectives: The extent to which healthcare professionals apply Shared Decision Making (SDM) on hospital wards is still unknown. The aim was to explore the current knowledge of SDM among healthcare professionals and the experienced factors influencing SDM on the wards of Dutch hospitals, regarding both treatment and care decisions.
Setting: Twelve hospital wards in two university medical centres and one teaching hospital.
Prevalence and factors influencing preoperative frailty in elderly patients with gynecologic oncology surgery: A cross-sectional study.
Exp Gerontol
January 2025
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University, Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province, China. Electronic address:
Background: Frailty is an important predictor of poor postoperative outcomes in elderly patients with gynaecologic cancer. However, the prevalence and risk factors for frailty in this population remain unclear.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted simultaneously in three gynecology departments of a tertiary hospital in China between January and March 2024.
Providing care to cancer patients parenting minor children: A qualitative study on healthcare professionals' communication practice.
Patient Educ Couns
January 2025
Department of Medical Psychology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), Hamburg, Germany; Department of Medical Psychology, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
Aim: To explore healthcare professionals' (HCPs) experiences when communicating about child- and family-related aspects in cancer care and their attitudes about the importance of including these aspects in cancer care.
Methods: We conduced semi-structured interviews with HCPs working in oncology. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analyzed using Kuckartz's method for qualitative content analysis.
Oncology Provider and Patient Perspectives on a Cardiovascular Health Assessment Tool utilized during Post-treatment Survivorship Care in Community Oncology (Results from WF-1804CD): Mixed Methods Observational Study.
J Med Internet Res
January 2025
Department of Social Sciences and Health Policy, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Medical Center Boulevard, Winston-Salem, US.
Background: Most cancer survivors have multiple cardiovascular risk factors, increasing their risk of poor cardiovascular and cancer outcomes. The Automated Heart-Health Assessment (AH-HA) tool is a novel electronic health record clinical decision support tool based on the American Heart Association's Life's Simple 7 cardiovascular health (CVH) metrics to promote CVH assessment and discussion in outpatient oncology. Before proceeding to future implementation trials, it is critical to establish the acceptability of the tool among providers and survivors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!