Perceived Well-Being, Social Support, and Self-Management Behavior among Women Experiencing Chemotherapy-Related Nausea and Vomiting in A Tertiary Hospital in Lahore, Pakistan.

OBJECTIVE: The basic objective is to determine the level of the self-management behaviors (SMB), perceived well-being, and social support of patients in the outpatient settings at tertiary care hospital at Lahore Pakistan. It also explores if there is any significant relationship among all three variables. METHODS: A descriptive-correlational study design has been used. The data have been collected at single setting of 32-bedded chemotherapy unit of a tertiary care hospital of Pakistan. The purposive sampling method has been employed. The IBM SPSS version 20 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) has been utilized for statistical analyses. RESULTS: A total of 317 patients' data were analyzed. The average age of patients was 42 years, and they received chemotherapy for different cancers. It was revealed that the SMB, for example, taking anti-emetics on time, and applying physical and cognitive distractions, have strong association with psychological, social, physical, and emotional dimensions of the perceived well-being. Similar self-managing strategies have associations with the provision of social support from the health-care team, personal, and family side. CONCLUSIONS: To conclude, the most common self-care methods of women receiving chemo are pharmacological management, applying physical and cognitive distraction, executing relaxation measures to control chemo-induced nausea.

Experiences of the Breast Cancer Patients Undergoing Radiotherapy at a Public Hospital Peshawar Pakistan.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the experiences of female breast cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy (RT) in a public hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan. METHODS: This study employed a descriptive exploratory method. A purposive sample of 14 breast cancer women undergoing RT was selected for this study. Data were collected over the period of 5 months, using a semi-structured interview guide and conducting in-depth face-to-face interviews. These interviews were audio taped and transcribed by a bilingual transcriber. The translated version of the interview was coded, and the analysis was done manually. RESULTS: Four main categories emerged from data analysis, which were: feelings and perceptions of the patients, their challenges, coping strategies, and teaching and informational needs. CONCLUSIONS: Women undergoing RT in this culture experience more intense psychological effects, as compared to the physical effects. Keeping in mind, the magnitude of the emotional stress experienced by the participants, recommendations for policy reforms, and training for female RT staff are suggested based on findings of this research.