Search results
1 – 10 of 527Suzanie Adina Mat Saat, Mark Hepworth and Tom Jackson
The purpose of this paper is to explore the Malay children’s information needs from their experience with parental cancer using information behaviour techniques to elicit…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the Malay children’s information needs from their experience with parental cancer using information behaviour techniques to elicit sensitive information that provided an indication of what children were thinking.
Design/methodology/approach
Data collection adapted the participatory action research method and used participatory-based techniques that included drawings, essays and interviews. Data explication used an interpretative phenomenological analysis approach. Social constructionism, learning theory and cognitive theory were used to analyse the data. In total, 32 participants took part, ten mothers with breast cancer at different stages of their cancer journey, and 32 children between 6 and 18 years old.
Findings
There are shortcomings in the provision of cancer information for Malay children. Unlike verbose and difficult to digest medical definitions and descriptions about cancer and its treatment, the Malay children defined cancer as having components made from their experiences and observations about how cancer affected their parent. The findings explain the relationship between children participants’ reaction to a health situation and the subsequent processes they undergo to resolve their state of information need.
Originality/value
It highlights the importance of determining information needs and the combined methods used to gain and interpret the experience children face with a parental cancer diagnosis. The findings about ethnic-based information problems, needs and provision for dependent children of cancer patients are one of the original contributions of this research. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is believed to be the first in-depth qualitative and highly participative study of the implications of cancer for dependent children of Malay cancer patients.
Details
Keywords
Eileen Mary Willis, Deidre D. Morgan and Kate Sweet
The purpose of this study is to examine the way in which the theoretical construct of liminality contributes to understanding the process of dying of cancer from the perspective…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the way in which the theoretical construct of liminality contributes to understanding the process of dying of cancer from the perspective of patients, carers and professionals in a state-run organization undergoing privatization.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative interviews were held with 13 patients and their carers and two focus groups with eight physiotherapists and occupational therapists. Data were analysed from the perspective of liminality for all three actors: patients, carers and health professionals.
Findings
The theoretical construct of liminality was useful for understanding the lived experience of patients and their carers. However, a major finding of this study reveals that health professionals operated in a dual space as both managers of the ritual process and individuals undergoing a liminal journey as their organization underwent transformation or restructure. Clients and carers had little knowledge of these tensions.
Research limitations/implications
The findings are limited by the fact that the interviews did not directly ask questions about the restructure of the organization.
Social implications
It would appear that professionals provide quality care despite their own struggles in moving from one organizational form to another
Originality/value
Few studies have explored the liminal rituals of dying at home that outline how professionals, as managers of the process, deal with their own liminal issues.
Details
Keywords
Ben J. Smith, Adrian E. Bauman, Jeanie McKenzie and Margaret Thomas
To examine whether awareness of the source of sun protection campaigns in New South Wales, Australia was associated with message recall and sun protection knowledge and behaviours.
Abstract
Purpose
To examine whether awareness of the source of sun protection campaigns in New South Wales, Australia was associated with message recall and sun protection knowledge and behaviours.
Design/methodology/approach
Telephone surveys of random samples (n=800) of parents and other carers of children under 12 years of age were conducted before and after the first two campaigns and after the third campaign.
Findings
Recognition of the NSW Cancer Council (NSWCC) as the message source increased after each campaign. Cross‐sectional analyses revealed that after the first and third campaigns those who could identify the NSWCC were 1.4‐1.7 times more likely than those who could not to demonstrate knowledge about child sun protection practices (p<0.05). After the first campaign those with accurate message source awareness were 1.4 times more likely to report using sunscreen or clothing to protect their children, while after campaign three this awareness was associated with a greater likelihood (OR 1.6, p<0.05) of using hats, sunscreen and protective clothing.
Research limitations/implications
While causality cannot be determined using a cross‐sectional design, the use of serial population surveys to analyse the relationship between message source awareness and sun protection knowledge and behaviours strengthens the basis for examining the role of this factor.
Practical implications
Presenting a readily identifiable and credible message source is likely to enhance the impact of health campaigns and this factor should be given attention in the pre‐testing of communications.
Originality/value
The importance of a credible communication source has been postulated by various theorists, but this one of few studies to examine the role played this factor in a population‐wide, health promotion campaign.
Details
Keywords
Ahmed Essmat Shouman, Nahla Fawzy Abou El Ezz, Nivine Gado and Amal Mahmoud Ibrahim Goda
The purpose of this paper is to measure health-related quality of life (QOL) among patients with early stage cancer breast under curative treatment at department of oncology and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to measure health-related quality of life (QOL) among patients with early stage cancer breast under curative treatment at department of oncology and nuclear medicine at Ain Shams University Hospitals. Identify factors affecting QOL among these patients.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional study measured QOL among early stage female breast cancer (BC) patients and determined the main factors affecting their QOL. Three interviewer administered questionnaires were used.
Findings
The physical domain mostly affected in BC patients and the functional domain least. Socio-demographic factors that significantly affected BC patients QOL scores were patient age, education, having children and family income. Specific patient characteristics include caregiver presence – a factor that affected different QOL scores. Age at diagnosis, affection in the side of the predominant hand, post-operative chemotherapy and difficulty in obtaining the medication were the disease-related factors that affected QOL scores.
Originality/value
The final model predicting QOL for early stage female BC patients included age, education and difficulty in obtaining the medication as determinants for total QOL score. Carer presence was the specific patient characteristic that affected different QOL scores.
Details
Keywords
Alexandra Martiniuk, Julia Challinor, Ramandeep S. Arora, Sri Andini Handayani and Catherine Lam
Globally, cancer represents an increasing proportion of child mortality as progress against infectious causes is made. Approximately 400,000 children will develop cancer, each…
Abstract
Purpose
Globally, cancer represents an increasing proportion of child mortality as progress against infectious causes is made. Approximately 400,000 children will develop cancer, each year, around the world. Only about half of these cancers will ever be diagnosed. In high-resource settings, 80% of children will survive, but only about 30% will survive in low-resource settings. Digital solutions have a valuable role in increasing health professional knowledge, skills and empowerment to diagnose, treat and otherwise care for children and adolescents with cancer. This review sought to identify digital resources that support the training and development of the paediatric oncology workforce in resource -poor settings.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents a narrative descriptive review of peer-reviewed publications and digital platforms that contribute to health professionals' education and training regarding paediatric oncology, particularly in rural and other low-resource settings.
Findings
Digital solutions were identified for building communities of practice, facilitating access to information and support and providing access to training, education and supervision specifically for paediatric oncology health professionals. A total of 33 resources are discussed in depth. A quality assessment of the digital resources is provided using the Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy and Purpose (CRAAP) tool and suggestions to improve the quality of resources are discussed.
Practical implications
The authors anticipate that this summary of digital resources for the global paediatric oncology professional community will inform digital health investments and design of digital innovations to meet emerging needs and will have an impact on the workforce in the real world. Ultimately, this work will contribute to an improvement in the diagnosis and treatment of children and adolescents with cancer in resource-poor settings.
Originality/value
This is the first discussion and summary of digital education platforms which educate, train and offer support to health professionals with respect to paediatric oncology. These digital platforms are often aimed at, and are essential for, health professionals in rural and other low-resource settings.
Jill Manthorpe, Jo Moriarty and Michelle Cornes
The purpose of this paper is to consider the experiences of carers caring for an adult child, particularly as they affect the transition from midlife into older age. It explores…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to consider the experiences of carers caring for an adult child, particularly as they affect the transition from midlife into older age. It explores aspects affecting the vast majority of carers, such as accessing information and services, but focuses on the specific concerns of those caring for a child with a life-long disability or a child who acquires a long-term health problem in adolescence or adulthood. In the context of the introduction of the Care Act (2014) in England, the paper highlights ways in which support for carers could be improved.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper draws on interview data which consisted of 86 face-to-face interviews with purposefully selected participants based in four local authorities. At the end of the study in 2014 the authors held a series of five focus groups for practitioners and carers to explore how the emerging findings chimed with their experiences and to refine the study’s messages for practice. The data from interviews are set in the context of policy and practice developments in social care in England.
Findings
The paper draws attention to the need for practitioners to find ways of involving carers in decision making without compromising the rights to autonomy and choice on the part of the person cared for. Both those commissioning services and practitioners need to acknowledge that parent carers need assurances about the long-term viability and quality of the plans that are developed for the person they support.
Research limitations/implications
This paper is drawn on interviews with carers and practitioners in four areas of England; most of the carers interviewed were white British and female. The implications of planning research and conducting research with family carers are explored and their similarities with practice encounters identified.
Practical implications
The key practice point in this paper highlights the necessity of talking about the future with parent carers, making plans for possible and highly likely events, addressing mortality, and being aware of the potential for a deeply held sense of pessimism and unspoken distress among carers. Some participants seemed to feel that practitioners conveyed a sense that they were inadequate or unwilling to discuss these matters and practitioners who suspect this may apply to them or their team could usefully consider seeking skills development to improve their practice.
Originality/value
This paper is the first to consider practice perspectives in the context of the Care Act (2014) and personal budgets in England relating to parent carers.
Details