Nurse-patient communication in cancer care. A review of the literature.

Patients with cancer seem to experience distress particularly in the first period after diagnosis, and are likely to develop an affective disorder in the first 2 to 3 months. Communicative behaviors of nurses seem to play an important role in meeting the cognitive and affective needs of patients with cancer. This review of the literature examines the communicative behaviors of nurses during care activities with patients who have cancer.

Gender differences in fatigue: biopsychosocial factors relating to fatigue in men and women.

Background: Fatigue is a common problem, which is found more frequently among women than men. To date, neither the etiology of fatigue nor the factors that explain the gender difference in its incidence are still fully understood.

Methods: In a sample of men (n = 4,681) and women (n = 4,698) (age range, 15-64 years) in the Dutch National Survey of Morbidity and Interventions in General Practice, the gender differences in the underlying biological, psychological, and social factors of fatigue were analyzed.

Hospital or general practice? Results of two experiments limiting the number of self referrals of patients with injuries to hospitals in The Netherlands.

Objective: To describe the results of two Dutch experiments aimed at limiting the number of self referrals to accident and emergency (A&E) departments of a newly opened hospital.

Methods: Basic design for both field experiments was a one group test-retest study, with the opening of a new hospital being the experimental factor. Data refer (1) to the number of patient contacts for acute somatic and non-somatic professional help with traumata and intoxications filled in on contact registration forms, and (2) to patient reports based on written questionnaires and interviews by telephone.

Exploring the iceberg of morbidity: a comparison of different survey methods for assessing the occurrence of everyday illness.

This paper examines problems in measuring the occurrence of acute symptoms of ill health. Health interview surveys and health diaries often lead to different results. Two key hypotheses assume that: 1, interviews using checklists are more sensitive to the respondent's psychological distress than are the open-ended questions of health diaries; and 2, health diaries demand high levels of compliance leading to underreporting of symptoms.

Psychosocial adaptation to stoma surgery: a review.

During the last decade strong improvements have been made in the medical care of patients with a digestive tract stoma, particularly with regard to nursing skills and to the quality of collecting material for faecal products. Scientific investigation into the psychosocial adjustment of patients after stoma surgery has intensified as well, giving us indications for quality of life. These developments induced a review of the actual state of affairs in psychological issues.