Men's use of networks to manage communication tensions related to a potential diagnosis of prostate cancer

Clinical validation of the ineffective social support network nursing diagnosis in violence-victimized women

PURPOSE

To verify clinical validity evidence for the ineffective social support network nursing diagnosis.

METHOD

A quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional study was performed with 98 violence-victimized women treated in two reference centers for violence in the city of Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil. The women were interviewed from August 2021 to June 2022.

FINDINGS

The clinical indicators that best predicted the nursing diagnosis were as follows: Frustration with unmet support expectations, negative social interaction, perceived neglect of support demands, feeling of abandonment, low reciprocity, and encouragement of negative behaviors. Etiological factors that showed greater association were excessive demand for support, limited social network, social isolation, the fragility of institutional service networked organizations, and inadequate appreciation of available social support.

CONCLUSIONS

The clinical validity evidence for the ineffective social support network nursing diagnosis has been verified. Thus, the validated clinical indicators and etiological factors can accurately diagnose and predict the emergence of this phenomenon in violence-victimized women.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE

The results contribute to advancing scientific knowledge in nursing teaching, research, and practice and support the nursing process in violence-victimized women.

The Gendered Work/Role of Program Directors in International Graduate Medical Education

Healthcare organizations offer numerous clinical and academic leadership pathways for physicians, among which the position of program director (PD) is considered to be a prominent educational leadership role. As PDs are instrumental in the recruitment and training of the next generations of physicians, PD gender distribution can affect the present and future of a medical specialty. This study offers a dialectical perspective in understanding how international PDs negotiate gendered understanding of their work/role by using the framework of Relational Dialectics Theory 2.0. Thirty-three interviews of PDs from Qatar, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates were conducted and, using contrapuntal analysis, the competing discourses of meanings of gender in the PD work/role were examined. Competing discourses where structural, cultural, and professional meanings of gender were interrogated revealed inherent multiple meanings of how gender is understood in PD work/roles. In making sense of these meanings of gender, PDs express dilemmas of traditional gender binaries of masculine/feminine work/role meanings to explain the term in different ways in their everyday organizational and cultural struggles. The findings have implications for PD recruitment and retention in teaching hospitals.

Men's perception of information and psychological distress in the diagnostic phase of prostate cancer: a comparative mixed methods study

BACKGROUND

Previous studies indicate that men experience frustration and uncertainty when confronted with an elevated prostate specific antigen (PSA) test and during further diagnostics for prostate cancer. The novel Stockholm3 test is an algorithm-based test that combines plasma protein biomarkers, genetic markers and clinical variables in predicting the risk of PCa. The test was introduced in a western part of Norway as a new tool for detecting prostate cancer. This study aimed to explore and compare men's perception of information and possible experience of distress between a PSA group and a Stockholm3 group during the diagnostic phase of prostate cancer.

METHODS

This study is a part of the trailing research evaluating the impact of the change from PSA to Stockholm3. It is a multicenter study using a comparative mixed method design. Data were collected in a PSA group (n = 130) and a Stockholm3 group (n = 120) between 2017 and 2019. Quantitative data were collected using questionnaires and qualitative data were collected using semi-structured interviews (n = 20). The quantitative and qualitative data were analysed and compared separately and then merged in a side-by-side discussion. The study adheres to the GRAMMS guidelines for reporting mixed-methods research.

RESULTS

Compared with the PSA group, men in the Stockholm3 group reported that the information from the general practitioners was better. Similarly, men in the Stockholm3 group were more likely to indicate that they had received sufficient information regarding how examinations would be conducted. No differences were found between the groups regarding waiting time and distress. Three themes emerged from the qualitative analysis of the two groups: "Information affects the experience of comprehension", "Stepping into the world of the healthcare system", and "Periodically feelings of distress".

CONCLUSION

The Stockholm3 test may facilitate the provision of information to patients. However, some patients in both groups experienced distress and would benefit from more information and additional support from healthcare professionals. Routines that ensure sufficient information from the interdisciplinary healthcare team should be of priority during the diagnostic phase of prostate cancer in order to provide patients with predictability and to avoid unnecessary distress.

Men's perception of information and descriptions of emotional strain in the diagnostic phase of prostate cancer-a qualitative individual interview study

OBJECTIVE

To explore men`s perception of information and their possible emotional strain in the diagnostic phase of prostate cancer.

DESIGN, SETTING, PATIENTS

A qualitative explorative research design was employed. Data were collected from June to November 2017. The study was set at a urological outpatient clinic at a university hospital in Norway. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten men who had been examined for prostate cancer. Interviews were analyzed using Systematic Text Condensation (STC).

RESULTS

The analysis revealed three themes. The theme 'Different needs and perceptions of information' illustrated that information should be personalized. Despite different information needs, insufficient information about prostate cancer may prevent some men from being involved in decisions. The theme, 'A discovery of not being alone', indicated that a sense of affinity occurs when men realize the commonality of prostate cancer. Some men benefited from other men's experiences and knowledge about prostate cancer. The last theme 'Worries about cancer and mortality' showed that the emotional strain was affected by men's knowledge of cancer and the received information. Men expressed conflicting feelings toward prostate cancer that could be difficult to express.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings indicate that men in the diagnostic phase of prostate cancer are not a homogeneous group, but need personalized information. Some men may benefit from other men's experiences and support. Men's emotional strain can affect their communication about prostate cancer, which should be acknowledged. Procedures that identify patients' information needs early on should be an integrated part of the diagnostic phase of prostate cancer.KEY POINTSKnowledge about men's information needs and possible emotional strain in the diagnostic phase of prostate cancer are limited.Men with suspected prostate cancer have different preferences and information needs; however, insufficient information prevents men from participating in decisions.Men experience a sense of affinity with other men affected by prostate cancer, and some men benefit from exchanging experiences.Men consider prostate cancer as a less aggressive type of cancer but may experience emotional strain.

Characteristics of the ineffective social support network: integrative review

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the characteristics of the ineffective social support network evidenced in its structure, functionality and dynamics.

METHOD

Integrative review, carried out in December 2017, in the bases Scopus, CINAHL, Web of Science, CUIDEN, BDENF, Lilacs and SciELO library by means of combinations between keywords/descriptors - Social Network, Social Networks, Social Support, Social Support Networks and the term "ineffective", finding 2012 publications and 24 composed the sample. The analysis of the results was based on the dimensions of the Social Support Network.

RESULTS

In the structural dimension, it was observed characteristics related to the amplitude, density of the network and fragility of the bonds; in the functional, the non-fulfillment of the function of social support in different occasions; and in the dynamics, conflicts and unexpected situations interfered negatively.

CONCLUSION

The evaluation of the characteristics of the ineffective social support network allows a better understanding of their relationships and instrumentalizes nurses in the mobilization of these networks directed to the well-being of the person, family and community.