Communicating with families of patients in an acute hospital with advanced cancer: problems and strategies identified by nurses
Access Status
Authors
Date
2003Type
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Source Title
ISSN
Faculty
School
Collection
Abstract
After pain management, poor communication with health professionals creates the most distress for families of patients with cancer. Difficulties communicating with families also have been identified as potentially stressful for nurses. This is particularly the case for nurses working in acute care settings. However, little research has been undertaken to examine the specific problems and challenges confronting nurses who endeavor to communicate with families of patients with cancer in a hospital setting. The purpose of this study was to describe nurses’ perceptions of communication issues, potential barriers, and strategies associated with nurse-family interactions in an acute cancer hospital setting. Focus groups were conducted with nurses from two cancer wards at an Australia hospital. Four distinct themes emerged. First, all nurses described communication difficulties they encountered when interacting with families. Second, team factors appeared to be a central determinant of the quality of nurse-family communication. Third, nurses described difficulties associated with the delivery of bad news and treatment plans that are not clearly defined for the patient. Finally, the effects of poor communication on nurses were notably and vividly described. In this report, recommendations for clinical practice and subsequent research are offered.
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Li, H.; Hegney, Desley; Ang, E. (2011)Aim: To establish the best available evidence regarding the factors affecting effective communication between registered nurses and inpatient cancer adults. Method: Electronic databases (CINAHL, Ovid, PubMed, ScienceDirect, ...
-
Tay, L.; Hegney, Desley; Ang, E. (2010)Background: Effective nurse-patient communication is essential in the development of therapeutic relationships and meeting the cognitive and affective needs of oncology patients. However, the emotional load in cancer ...
-
O'Connell, Beverly O. (1997)The nursing process is the espoused problem solving framework that forms the basis of the way in which patient care is determined, delivered, and communicated in a multiplicity of health care settings. Although its use ...