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BACKGROUND: Family caregivers play a key role in providing care for patients with advanced cancer. Most of this care burden is shouldered by female caregivers in the family. Compared to their male counterparts, female caregivers face numerous psychological challenges in the process of caregiving. The aim of this study was to identify the psychological challenges of female caregivers in providing care to patients with advanced cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This descriptive-exploratory study began with purposive sampling method in 2020-2021 in Isfahan and continued until data saturation was reached. Twenty semi-structured interviews were conducted with female caregivers of patients with advanced cancer and 18 more interviews with providers of health services and supportive-palliative care. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using conventional qualitative content analysis. DISCUSSION: The results were classified into three categories. The first category was psychological reactions that included the four subcategories of depression and anxiety, aggression, mental exhaustion, and death anxiety; the second category was psychological needs which included the three subcategories of need for professional counseling, need for emotional support, and need to prepare for mourning; and the third category was mental occupations which consisted of the two subcategories of feeling of regret and remorse. CONCLUSION: Assessment of psychological challenges is a prerequisite for planning psychological interventions, providing high-quality care, and improving quality of life and satisfaction of caregivers. The findings of this study will contribute to the development of guidelines and empowerment programs for female caregivers providing palliative care.
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BACKGROUND: Osteoporosis, the fourth most common disease in the world, affects the elderly and postmenopausal women and imposes a great financial and social burden on individuals and society. Furthermore, it has a significant impact on the quality of patients' life. This study tries to take an effective step toward improving the quality of patients' life by developing and evaluating the self-care program of women with osteoporosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this research, a hybrid sequential design of quantitative and qualitative type consisting of three phases is used. This mixed-method study aimed to develop and evaluate a self-care program for women with osteoporosis. CONCLUSION: Familiarity with the needs of these patients and the use of self-care programs and considering social, cultural, and psychological factors could be effective steps to improve the health of women with osteoporosis. These steps can improve the quality of life and reduce the costs of treatment for this group of women.
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INTRODUCTION: Heart transplantation is considered as a golden standard of treatment for advanced heart failure. After - transplantation health of patients is influenced by numerous issues which many of them are unknown to the treatment team including nurses. This research - with the aim of describing the life experiences of heart transplant patients - help us to get close to the patients private life and gain comprehensive and a general understanding of all aspects of their life. METHODS: This study applied qualitative approach using phenomenology method. The purposive sampling was conducted and continued with 9 participants until information reached saturation point. The participants are the heart transplant recipients who had surgery in Esfahan's Heart Surgery Center of Shahid Chamran. RESULTS: The extracted interviews were analyzed through Colaizzi method: The eleven extracted main concepts were included: Belief, tendencies of the recipient and family of donor, bewilderment, moment of facing with transplantation, satisfaction, vital organ, support, temperament, physical effects of transplantation, mental changes, paradox of life and death. CONCLUSION: In heart transplant patients, being in touch with peers and family support have an important role in putting up with the transplantation issue. Lack of social situation and social support were among the patients distresses. Lack of the necessary information about transplantation made patients dissatisfied with the heart transplantation. Regarding the research findings, training received by patients would not be suffice and lack of information has been made them face with problems; therefore, the nurse team of transplantation should play more an active role in training the patients.
