Oncology Nursing Society

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, safety, and fidelity of a psychoeducational intervention to improve family caregiver technical and communication skills using structured simulations. SAMPLE & SETTING: 18 family caregivers of adult patients receiving radiation therapy for head and neck cancer at University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center in Cleveland, Ohio. METHODS & VARIABLES: A two-group, randomized pilot trial design was used.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the feasibility and acceptability of a validated electronic distress screening program for cancer caregivers. SAMPLE & SETTING: 17 informal caregivers presenting with a patient with cancer to an ambulatory cancer surgery center. METHODS & VARIABLES: Caregivers completed the CancerSupportSource®--Caregiver screening and a brief semistructured interview concerning the screening. RESULTS: Caregivers described the screening as straightforward and comprehensive.

BACKGROUND: More than 16 million men in the United States are acting in the role of family caregiver. Men are usually viewed as not being caring simply because they provide care differently than women. However, this is not the case. OBJECTIVES: This article explores male caregiving from the perspective of family and professional roles. METHODS: A review of the literature related to men in the caregiving role was conducted. This review included only men providing care to a family member and was limited to men caring for an adult.

OBJECTIVES: To elucidate the importance of mutual effects within dyads by examining the contribution of depression on quality of life (QOL) in patients with advanced cancer and their family caregivers (FCs). SAMPLE & SET TING : 716 patients with advanced cancer paired with their FCs at two large, private not-for-profit hospices. METHODS & VARIABLES: A descriptive, cross-sectional design with the baseline data of a randomized hospice clinical trial was used.

Purpose/Objectives: To describe and examine the relationship between caregiver burden and the affective disorders anxiety and depression in caregivers of patients with brain metastases. Design: Cross-sectional, descriptive, correlational. Setting: Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego.Sample: 56 family caregivers of patients with brain metastases from solid tumors at other primary sites. Methods: Self-administered survey.

Purpose/Objectives: To explore family caregivers’ perspectives of caring for patients with terminal hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) as patients approached the end of life. Research Approach: Longitudinal, qualitative descriptive design. Setting: Oregon Health and Science University in Portland and Veterans Affairs Portland Health Care System in Oregon. Participants: 13 family caregivers with a mean age of 56 years (range = 22–68 years). The majority of family caregivers were female (n = 10) and identified as White (n = 11).

Objectives: To describe nurses' practices, confidence, and knowledge of evidence-based interventions for cancer caregiver strain and burden and to identify factors that contribute to these aspects. ; Sample & Setting: 2,055 Oncology Nursing Society members completed an emailed survey.; Methods & Variables: Pooled analysis of survey results. Variables included the baseline nursing assessment, intervention, confidence, knowledge, strategies used, and barriers encountered.

Purpose/objectives: To determine the effects of delivering a reflexology intervention on health outcomes of informal caregivers, and to explore whether intervention effects are moderated by caregiver characteristics.

BACKGROUND: Problematic communication among providers, patients, and their family members can affect the quality of patient care, causing stress to all parties involved and decreased opportunities for collaborative decision making. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this article is to present one case from a pilot study of a family caregiver intervention focused on communication. METHODS: The nurse-delivered communication intervention includes a written communication guide for family caregivers, as well as a one-time nurse communication coaching call.

Purpose/Objectives: To explore whether repetitive negative thinking (RNT) mediates the pathway between subscales of caregiver burden and depressive symptoms. Design: Cross-sectional pilot study. Setting: Bone marrow unit at the University of Louisville Hospital in Kentucky and caregiver support organizations in Louisville. Sample: 49 current cancer caregivers who were primarily spouses or partners of individuals with lymphoma or leukemia and provided care for a median of 30 hours each week for 12 months.