Patient-centred communication for women with breast cancer: Relation to body image perception

The Relationship Between Body Image and Meaning of Life Among Women with Breast Cancer in Kerman, Iran

We aimed to examine the relationship between body image and the meaning of life among women with breast cancer. The analytic sample included 142 women with breast cancer, and data were collected using a standardized questionnaire through face-to-face interviews. We used Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Pearson test, Spearman and Mann-Whitney U test to determine the relationship between the research variables. We found an association between the mean score of body image and the mean score of the meaning of life. As the average score of body image increases, the score of the meaning of life increases (p < 0.05). Findings indicated that the body image score increases by increasing the score of the meaning of life and its dimensions, especially existential vacuum and acceptance of death. Future research and targeted treatments should consider the role of body image in shaping the meaning of life among women with breast cancer.

Nursing Interventions in the Perioperative Pathway of the Patient with Breast Cancer: A Scoping Review

The decrease in average hospitalisation time and the increase in outpatient surgery in some types of breast cancer represent gains for the reduction of the negative impact of hospitalisation in women with breast cancer but are also a challenge for the organisation of nursing care to prepare women for surgery, reduce anxiety about the interventions, and ensure continuity of care in the postoperative period. The aim of this study is to identify nursing interventions present in the care provided to patients with breast cancer during the perioperative period. A scoping review was the method chosen to answer the research question: What are the specialised nursing interventions in the perioperative pathway of the patient with breast cancer? Inclusion and exclusion criteria were defined for the articles that were identified in the CINAHL and MEDLINE databases; later, additional sources were identified from the list of bibliographic references for each selected study. The final bibliographical sample consisted of seven articles, which allowed the identification of three key moments of nursing interventions in the perioperative period of patients with breast cancer: the preoperative consultation, the reception of the patient in the operating room, and the postoperative consultation. Factors such as psychological, emotional, and spiritual support, communication and patient-centred care, health education and surgical safety, and the definition of a perioperative pathway for these patients contribute significantly to patients' satisfaction and the improvement of their quality of life. The results of this study make it possible to establish recommendations for practise and for research, increasing the range of nurses' actions.

Patient-centered care in the Middle East and North African region: a systematic literature review

BACKGROUND

The need for patient centered care (PCC) and its subsequent implementation has gained policy maker attention worldwide. Despite the evidence showing the benefits and the challenges associated with practicing PCC in western countries there has been no comprehensive review of the literature on PCC practice in the Middle East and North African (MENA) region, yet there is good reason to think that the practices of PCC in these regions would be different.

OBJECTIVES

This paper summarizes the existing research on the practice of PCC in the MENA region and uses this analysis to consider the key elements of a PCC definition based on MENA cultural contexts.

METHODS

Five electronic databases were searched (EMBASE, Cochrane, Medline, CINAHL and Scopus) using the search terms: patient OR person OR client OR consumer AND centered OR centred AND care. The MENA countries included were Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Israel, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Djibouti, Pakistan, Sudan, and Turkey. Identified papers were imported to Covidence where they were independently reviewed against the inclusion criteria by two authors. The following data were extracted for each paper: author, year, location (i.e., country), objectives, methodology, study population, and results as they related to patient centred care.

RESULT

The electronic search identified 3582 potentially relevant studies. Fifty articles met the inclusion criteria. Across all papers five themes were identified: 1) patient centered care principles; 2) patient and physician perceptions of PCC; 3) facilitators of PCC; 4) implementation and impact of PCC; and 5) barriers to PCC.

CONCLUSION

The preliminary findings suggest that the concept of PCC is practiced and supported to a limited extent in the MENA region, and that the implementation of PCC might be impacted by the cultural contexts of the region. Our review therefore highlights the importance of establishing patient-centered care definitions that clearly incorporate cultural practices in the MENA region. The elements and impact of culture in the MENA region should be investigated in future research.

Diversity of interpretations of the concept "patient-centered care for breast cancer patients"; a scoping review of current literature

RATIONALE, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

Patient-centered care is considered a vital component of good quality care for breast cancer patients. Nevertheless, the implementation of this valuable concept in clinical practice appears to be difficult. The goal of this study is to bridge the gap between theoretical elaboration of "patient-centered care" and clinical practice. To that purpose, a scoping analysis was performed of the application of the term "patient-centered care in breast cancer treatment" in present-day literature.

METHOD

For data-extraction, a literature search was performed extracting references that were published in 2018 and included the terms "patient-centered care" and "breast cancer". The articles were systematically traced for answers to the following three questions: "What is patient-centered care?", "Why perform patient-centered care?", and "How to realize patient-centered care?". For the content analysis, these answers were coded and assembled into meaningful clusters until separate themes arose which concur with various interpretations of the term "patient-centered care".

RESULTS

A total of 60 publications were retained for analysis. Traced answers to the three questions "what", "why", and "how" varied considerably in recent literature concerning breast cancer treatment. Despite the inconsistent use of the term "patient-centered care," we did not find any critical consideration about the nature of the concept, regardless of the applied interpretation. Interventions that are supposed to contribute to the heterogeneous concept of patient-centered care as such, seem to be judged desirable, virtually without empirical justification.

CONCLUSIONS

We propose, contrary to previous efforts to define "patient-centered care" more accurately, to embrace the heterogeneity of the concept and apply "patient-centered care" as an umbrella-term for all healthcare that intends to contribute to the acknowledgement of the person in the patient. For the justification of measures to realize patient-centered care for breast cancer patients, instead of a mere contribution to the abstract concept, we insist on the demonstration of desirable real-world effects.

Tailored patient therapeutic educational interventions: A patient-centred communication model

Background

Tailoring therapeutic education consists of adapting the intervention to patients' needs with the expectation that this individualization will improve the results of the intervention. Communication is the basis for any individualization process. To our knowledge, there is no guide or structured advice to help healthcare providers (HCPs) tailor patient education interventions.

Objectives

We used a data‐driven qualitative analysis to (1) investigate the reasons why HCPs tailor their educational interventions and (2) identify how this tailoring is effectively conducted. The perspective aimed to better understand how to individualize therapeutic patient education and to disentangle the different elements to set up studies to investigate the mechanisms and effects of individualization.

Design

Individual semistructured interviews with 28 HCPs involved in patient education were conducted. The present study complied with the COREQ criteria.

Results

Why individualization is necessary: participants outlined that the person must be thought of as unique and that therapeutic education should be adapted to the patient's personality and cognitive abilities. The first step in the individualization process was formalized by an initial patient assessment. Several informal practices were identified: if needed, giving an individual time or involving a specific professional; eliciting individual objectives; reinforcing the relationship by avoiding asymmetrical posture; focusing on patients' concerns; leading sessions in pairs; and making the patient the actor of decisions.

Conclusion

From our thematic data analysis, a model for tailoring patient education interventions based on the Haes and Bensing medical communication framework is proposed. The present work paves the way for evaluation, then generation of recommendations and finally implementation of training for individualization in educational interventions.

Short Informative

Tailoring in therapeutic education consists of an adaptation to patients' needs. Communication is the basis for any individualization process. There is no model of patient‐centred communication in educational interventions. From semistructured interviews with HCPs, we propose a patient‐centred communication model for tailoring patient education intervention.

Sensory signs and symptoms in women with self-reported breast cancer-related lymphedema: a case-control study close up

PURPOSE

It is not clear to what extent signs and symptoms other than arm swelling, including pain, altered sensory function, and body perception disturbances, differ between women with measurable and non-measurable breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL). A case-control study was performed to compare these signs and symptoms between (1) women with self-reported BCRL with objectively measurable swelling; (2) women with self-reported BCRL without objective confirmation; and (3) a control group with no self-reported BCRL.

METHODS

The three groups were compared for (1) the severity of self-reported signs and symptoms of BCRL, (2) problems in functioning related to BCRL, (3) pain-related outcomes, (4) sensory functions, and (5) body perception.

RESULTS

All self-reported outcomes related to signs and symptoms of BCRL and problems in functioning were significantly different between the control group and the other two groups with and without measurable self-reported BCRL (p < 0.001-0.003). Except for "skin texture" (p = 0.01), no differences were found between groups. For pain-related outcomes, sensory function, and body perception, significant differences were found for the mechanical detection threshold (p < 0.01) and self-reported disturbances in body perception (p < 0.001) between the self-reported BCRL groups and control group.

CONCLUSIONS

Diverse signs and symptoms related to BCRL, sensory function, and perception were different among women with self-reported BCRL compared to controls. No differences between women with and without measurable self-reported BCRL were found.

IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS

The presence of self-reported BCRL, with or without measurable swelling, is a first indication for the need of further diagnostic evaluation.