Finding Hope and Healing When Cure Is Not Possible

The Meaning of Hope for Polish Male Patients Dying from Cancer Depending on Their Age: An Interdisciplinary Study with the Use of Osgood's Semantic Differential Method

Background/Objectives: The subject of this article is the reflection on hope-one of the most important predictors and motivators of human actions. Hope is our response to a threat, and it is also the emotion that allows us to overcome hopelessness and to reduce suffering. Hoping is a human capacity with varying cognitive, emotional, and functional dimensions. Psychological, pedagogical (particularly in the framework of special-needs pedagogy and thanatological pedagogy), and theological reflection on hope can be helpful for dying people. The objective of this study was to characterize hope in the semantic space of individuals in the terminal stage of cancer and to verify whether age is a variable that determines this hope. Methods: To complete the study, the Osgood semantic differential method was applied, as modified by Polish psychologist Dr. Boguslaw Block (the DSN-3 test). The research technique consisted of a therapeutic conversation. Results: Research results show that, in general, those in the terminal stage have positive associations with hope. In all three aspects of the used test, namely the cognitive, emotional, and functional aspects, the highest scores assigned to the perception of hope were obtained from men up to 35 years of age. Depending on the ages of patients, one could observe certain semantic shifts, but they did not prove to be statistically significant. Conclusions: Polish males surveyed at the end of life due to cancer generally perceived hope as a supportive force. Therefore, hope can provide emotional support to patients in the terminal stage of cancer and improve their quality of life.

Experience of hope in older people with chronic illness: A meta-synthesis

BACKGROUND

The increase in life expectancy has contributed to an increase in the number of older people, but this population has to learn to live with at least one chronic illness. Thus, hope has become an important resource for the older adult to face the repercussions of chronic illness.

OBJECTIVE

To synthesise qualitative evidence on the experience of hope in older people with chronic illness.

METHODS

This meta-synthesis included qualitative studies which present the experiences of hope in older people diagnosed with at least one chronic illness. The searches were made from six databases, guided by the SPIDER tool. The identified articles were then independently screened by two reviewers. The results were analysed according to the thematic synthesis approach.

RESULTS

Eighteen articles were included, and four analytical themes were constructed. The results allow us to understand that older people live with long-term conditions and hope for an ordinary life. To react to new changes and to maintain hope, they create goals that motivate them in daily life. The treatment is initially seen as a salvation, but the information acquired with the evolution of the illness modifies this perception. In addition, the uncertainty about the success of the treatment creates conflict in their hope. In the support and care of older people in the new context of illness, meaningful relationships strengthen hope most of the time. There is still the hope of being reconciled with death, but there are times when suffering overcomes the hope of living.

CONCLUSIONS

This meta-synthesis highlights that the experience of hope in older people is dynamic and influenced by the context of changes related to illness, treatment, significant relationships and proximity to death.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

A better understanding of the role and characteristics of hope in older people with chronic illness may help to develop more effective interventions to promote and maintain hope.

Preparing for Death While Investing in Life: A Narrative Inquiry and Case Report of Home-Based Paediatric Palliative, End-of-Life, and After-Death Care

Paediatric palliative care is pivotal for addressing the complex needs of children with incurable diseases and their families. While home-based care offers a familiar and supportive environment, delivering comprehensive services in this context is challenging. The existing literature on home-based palliative care lacks detailed guidance for its organization and implementation. This qualitative narrative inquiry explores the organization and provision of home-based paediatric palliative care. Data were collected from healthcare practitioners using conversations, storytelling, and reflective journaling. Schwind's Narrative Reflective Process was applied to synthesize the data, resulting in an in-depth case description. The narrative approach illuminates the complexities of home-based paediatric palliative, end-of-life, and after-death care. Key findings encompass the importance of early-care coordination, interprofessional collaboration, effective symptom management, emotional and psychosocial support, and comprehensive end-of-life planning. Through the case study of the child patient, the challenges and strategies for providing holistic, family-centred care within the home environment are described. Practical insights gained from this report can inform the development and improvement of home-based palliative care programs, benefiting researchers, practitioners, and policymakers seeking to optimize care for children and families in similar contexts.

Hope in the context of life-threatening illness and the end of life

Recent research shows the importance of hope in the context of life-threatening illness and the end of life for patients and their families. While some patients and family members continue to hope for a cure or extending life, others may develop more complex hopes related to quality of life and making the most of the time left. Clinicians often worry about taking hope away with bad news about the patient's prognosis, but patients and family members often appreciate honesty without losing hope. Clinicians should recognize that hopes in the context of serious, progressive illness may be complex, contradictory, culturally based, and evolve over time. Recent interventions have been developed to support hope for these patients, caregivers, and parents.

Speaking with Frankenstein

This collaborative essay experimentally applies the insights of Mary Shelley's 1818 gothic fantasy Frankenstein to clinical interactions between present-day physicians and the patients they, akin to Shelley's human protagonist, so often seem to bring (back) to life. Because that process is frequently fraught with unspoken elements of ambivalence, disappointment, frustration, and failure, we find in Shelley's speculative fiction less a cautionary tale of overreach than a dynamic parable of the role that the unspoken, the invisible, and the unknown might play in contemporary physician/patient relationships. Playing with that parable, we consider its relevance to four often unacknowledged dynamics that shape physician/patient interaction: commitment to a false binary of life and death; the tyranny of normative aesthetics; shared negative affect; and the ethics of care and care-denial. To "speak with Frankenstein" is, we show, to make space for the otherwise unspeakable. The result is a more complete model of narrative medicine that accommodates to its ideal of open communication and full attention the persistence of what cannot be said, seen, or known--only imagined and approximated.

Serious illness conversations in pulmonary hypertension

Pulmonary arterial hypertension has evolved from a fatal disease with few treatment options to a chronic condition with improved survival. This improvement is possible through development of effective therapies as well as the expansion of risk stratification scores to assist clinical decision making. Despite improved disease control, quality of life, and overall prognosis, many challenges remain. The treatment itself is burdensome, with significant impact on quality of life. Many patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension still present with advanced, often end-stage disease. Increased use of mechanical circulatory support and catheter-based interventions have expanded use of extracorporeal life support and right ventricle assist devices. For these reasons as well as the long-term relationships pulmonary hypertension physicians have with patients and their families, navigating the course of the illness in a considered, proactive way is essential. Understanding individual goals and revisiting them as they change over time requires comfort with the conversation itself. There are many barriers and challenges to having effective, compassionate conversations in the clinical setting with time constraints being the most often cited. Compressed visits are necessarily focused on the clinical aspects, therapy and medication adherence and tolerance. Clinicians are sometimes wary of diminishing hope in the face of ongoing treatment. Having sufficient experience and comfort with these discussions can be empowering. In this paper, we discuss the challenges involved and propose a framework to assist in incorporating these discussions into clinical care.

Experiences and perspectives of suffering in cancer: A qualitative systematic review

PURPOSE

Suffering refers to a situation in which a person's illness and condition threaten their integrity. The aim of this systematic review was to synthesize qualitative studies that explored suffering of persons with cancer.

METHOD

A qualitative systematic review was conducted. Psych Info, PubMed, and CINAHL were searched for relevant studies. Methodological quality was independently assessed using the Critical Appraisal Checklist from Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI). A meta-aggregative approach was utilized to analyze and synthesize the data that focused on how persons with cancer perceive suffering across their illness trajectory.

RESULTS

Twelve articles reporting the experiences of 230 participants were synthesized. Three synthesized findings were generated from the articles: suffering the loss of normality, suffering in relation to others and existential suffering. Suffering affects the person's normal activities of life and cause the loss of normality. Suffering in relation to others refers patients' suffering also impacts on and is impacted by those around them. The last synthesized finding refers to impact of suffering on patients' whole sense of being. In addition, feelings of hopelessness, and other mental anguish are inevitable responses that lead the patients to think about death. The overall methodological quality resulted in a ConQual rating of moderate for the synthesized findings.

CONCLUSION

The persons' suffering not only affects themselves but also others, particularly close relatives. The suffering experienced is complex and goes well beyond the immediate impact of physical symptoms and treatment.

Perceptions of Bereaved Caregivers and Clinicians About End-of-Life Care for Patients With Destination Therapy Left Ventricular Assist Devices

Background Patients with left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) implanted as destination therapy may receive suboptimal preparation for and care at the end of life, but there is limited understanding of the reasons for these shortcomings. Exploring perceptions of individuals (caregivers and clinicians) who are closely involved in the end-of-life experience with patients with destination therapy LVADs can help identify key opportunities for improving care. Methods and Results We conducted semistructured qualitative interviews with 7 bereaved caregivers of patients with destination therapy LVADs and 10 interdisciplinary LVAD clinicians. Interviews explored perceptions of preparing for end of life, communicating about end of life, and providing and receiving end-of-life care, and were analyzed using a 2-step team-based inductive approach to coding and analysis. Six themes pertaining to end-of-life experiences were derived: (1) timing end-of-life discussions in the setting of unpredictable illness trajectories, (2) prioritizing end-of-life preparation and decision-making, (3) communicating uncertainty while providing support and hope, (4) lack of consensus on responsibility for end-of-life discussions, (5) perception of the LVAD team as invincible, and (6) divergent perceptions of LVAD withdrawal. Conclusions This study revealed 6 unique aspects of end-of-life care for patients with destination therapy LVADs as reported by clinicians and caregivers. Themes coalesced around communication, team-based care, and challenges unique to patients with LVADs at end of life. Programmatic changes may address some aspects, including training clinicians in LVAD-specific communication skills. Other aspects, such as standardizing the role of the palliative care team and developing practical interventions that enable timely advance care planning during LVAD care, will require multifaceted interventions.

Labour induction massage: A thematic content analysis of Australian massage therapists' website pages

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

There is limited evidence on the efficacy and safety of induction massage; however, there are some massage therapists in Australia who offer induction massage. The aim of this paper is to determine the information being provided to consumers on websites pages of Australian massage therapists who provide 'induction massage'.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A qualitative summative content analysis methodology employing both manifest and latent content analysis was used to examine website pages of Australian massage therapists offering 'induction massage'.

RESULTS

Twenty-eight websites met the criteria for inclusion. The qualitative theme was a façade of hope with three subthemes: a) misconception and equivocation, b) marketing scieneploitation and c) lack of empowerment.

CONCLUSION

While there were only a small number of websites that provided induction massage, these webpages generally failed to provide accurate and complete information and used deceptive and misleading statements and language that made 'induction massage' appear more efficacious and legitimate than current evidence suggests it is, thus potentially giving false hope to potential consumers.

Trust-Based Partnerships Are Essential - and Achievable - in Health Care Service

When people think about trust in the context of health care, they typically focus on whether patients trust the competence of doctors and other health professionals. But for health care to reach its full potential as a service, trust must also include the notion of partnership, whereby patients see their clinicians as reliable, caring, shared decision-makers who provide ongoing "healing" in its broadest sense. Four interrelated service-quality concepts are central to fostering trust-based partnerships in health care: empathetic creativity, discretionary effort, seamless service, and fear mitigation. Health systems and institutions that prioritize trust-based partnerships with patients have put these concepts into practice using several concrete approaches: investing in organizational culture; hiring health professionals for their values, not just their skills; promoting continuous learning; attending to the power of language in all care interactions; offering patients "go-to" sources for timely assistance; and creating systems and structures that have trust built into their very design. It is in the real-world implementation of trust-based partnership that health care can reclaim its core mission.

Social representations on diabetic foot: contributions to PHC in the Brazilian Northeast

This study aimed to identify the structuring elements guiding the establishment of the social representations of diabetic foot among people with diabetes mellitus. This qualitative study is based on the Social Representations Theory and was conducted in a capital of the Brazilian Northeast. The free word association test and a roadmap were used to characterize the sociodemographic and clinical profile to collect data. The analysis was performed using openEVOC software. The constituent elements of the diabetic foot's social representation "cure" and "really bad", revealing that living with a diabetic foot is challenging, but there is hope for a cure, which is a driving force in the daily search for care. The "prevention" element emerged in the representational field, denoting a more critical view and a capacity to transform the identified core elements. We found that the representational structure is based on subjective, valuating, and attitudinal contents. This knowledge can contribute to the design of interventions in the provision of care and diabetic foot screening in PHC services.

Patient's experiences of suffering across the cancer trajectory: A qualitative systematic review protocol

AIM

To identify, appraise and synthesize the available evidence from qualitative research exploring the suffering of patients with cancer during their illness trajectories.

DESIGN

Protocol for a qualitative systematic review.

DATA SOURCES

The database will include PubMed, CINAHL and Psych Info were searched in May 2020.

METHODS

The review protocol has been registered in International Prospective Register for Systematic Review (CRD42020165405). This review will systematically search qualitative research studies in databases from 1982-May 2020, with predetermined search terms. Searches are limited to studies in English. Two reviewers will independently appraise the methodological quality of the selected studies using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist for Qualitative Research. Disagreements can be settled through discussion which includes a third reviewer, if necessary. This review will use the meta-aggregative approach to analyze and synthesize data. A summary of findings from selected studies will be presented.

DISCUSSION

Suffering is a complex dimension that included physical psychological, existential and social dimensions. This review will enable nurses to gain an in-depth understanding of suffering that not only worsens at the end of life that can deliver comprehensive care.

IMPACT

This review is designed to systematically identify and explore the suffering that patients with cancer experience during their illness trajectory. Often suffering is highlighted at the end of life phase. This review will synthesize the evidence of suffering from the beginning of the patient's diagnosis to the end of life. The results of this review provide evidence to support nursing developments in education and clinical practice so that understanding of cancer can be optimized. The findings of the proposed review will contribute as a basis for recommendations for future research regarding suffering.

Hope in Palliative Care: A Thematic Analysis

BACKGROUND

Hope is a positive coping mechanism that is important at all stages of illness, more so for palliative care patients.

PURPOSE

To explore the experiences of hope of palliative care patients.

METHODS

A qualitative study was conducted at University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Adult palliative care in-patients were recruited and interviewed with semi structured questions on hope. Transcripts from the interviews were thematically analyzed with qualitative data management software NVIVO.

FINDINGS

20 palliative care patients participated in the study. The themes generated from thematic analysis were (1) The notions of hope, (2) The sources and barriers of hope and (3) The contents of hope.

CONCLUSION

Hope is an ever-present source of energy that gives people strength to carry on even in the most adverse situations. Understanding hope from the palliative care perspective may allow healthcare providers to develop strategies to better foster hope in the terminally ill.