Biomedical subjects

M R Haberman

Publications and source records attributed to M R Haberman.

15 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1999

The meaning of quality of life in cancer survivorship.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To describe the meaning of quality of life (QOL) in long-term cancer survivors, to validate inductively derived QOL themes, and to identify and cluster over-arching themes across long-term cancer survivors. DESIGN: Qualitative study that was part of a larger, cross-sectional survey. SETTING/SAMPLE: 687 (57% response) cancer survivors at an average of 6.7 years after diagnosis. In the sample, 81% were female (with a mean age of 49.6 years), 72% were college educated, 63% were married, and 49% worked full time. METHODS: Mailed survey of three open-ended questions and standard QOL tools. A QOL conceptual model was used to frame the research study, describe the QOL responses of the participants, and explore the meaning of cancer survivorship. Content analysis was used to answer the research questions. Data collection and analysis occurred sequentially. MAIN RESEARCH CONCEPTS: Meaning, QOL cancer survivorship. FINDINGS: 25 of 30 inductively derived QOL themes were validated in this study of long-term cancer survivors; 107 additional QOL themes were identified and clustered into 11 over-arching themes across the entire data set. Over-arching themes included struggle between independence-dependence, balance, wholeness, life purpose, reclaiming life, multiple losses, having control, altered meaning of health, and surviving cancer from a family perspective. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: The meaning of QOL in long-term cancer survivors is multifaceted and complex. CONCLUSIONS: Nurses can use this broader conception of QOL in breast cancer survivors to help patients prepare for and cope with adjustments.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1995

1994 Oncology Nursing Society Research Priorities Survey.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To determine oncology nursing research priorities as well as the type of research needed to address these priorities. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey design. SETTING: Mail-out survey with return, postage-paid envelope provided. SAMPLE: A random sample of 10% of Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) members who identified patient care as their primary functional area, the ONS leadership group (e.g., Board of Directors, all committee chairs), all doctorally prepared ONS members, and all members of the ONS Advanced Nursing Research Special interest Group (N = 2,178). METHODS: The questionnaire was based on prior ONS Research Surveys and updated to reflect issues or topics that currently are relevant to oncology nurses. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: Priority ranking of 93 research topics organized into seven major categories. FINDINGS: Seven hundred eighty-nine surveys were returned, for a 36% return rate. The top 10 priorities according to the priority index were pain; prevention; quality of life; risk reduction/screening; ethical issues; neutropenia/immunosuppression; patient education; stress, coping, and adaptation; detection; and cost containment. CONCLUSIONS: The top 10 research issues can be used to develop priorities for the direction of research in oncology nursing. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: The findings provide a basis for identifying trends in nursing practice. The fact that prevention, risk reduction, and detection appear in the top 10 suggests that nurses are moving toward a definition of practice that is not limited to managing symptoms of disease. These findings also provide guidance for forming health policy in cancer care.

Cross-Sectional Studies↗

PubMed1994

Provisional practice: the nature of psychosocial bone marrow transplant nursing.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE: To develop an empirically based description of the key concepts guiding psychosocial nursing practice for the patient undergoing bone marrow transplantation (BMT). DESIGN: Retrospective, descriptive. SETTING: National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center. SAMPLE: Medical records of 23 adults (11 males, 12 females; X age = 33 years) who have undergone BMT. METHODS: All psychosocial-related charting was extracted manually from the subjects' medical records and nursing care plans. Text was analyzed for content, coded, and sorted into 42 categories. The investigators wrote category definitions. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: All present and past psychosocial problems that had been identified; psychosocial assessment; psychosocial-related admission and discharge teaching; and references to pain and sleep disturbances that included or implied psychosocial overlay. FINDINGS: Thematic categories were present in each of five core concepts: discovering the lived reality, managing the flow, emerging awareness, keeping watch, and behind closed doors. Synthesis of these concepts led to one encompassing concept--the provisional nature of psychosocial BMT nursing practice. CONCLUSIONS: The results provide empirical evidence that five key concepts exist within psychosocial BMT nursing and can be applied to a new paradigm of nursing care. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: Provisional practice, as a new paradigm, requires further development. The five concepts derived from this study provide a useful framework for delineating significant psychosocial needs of patients and families and for designing tailored nursing therapeutics. The study suggests that preparation for practicing BMT nursing should include education in specific psychosocial strategies, documentation, and coping with the personal implications of practice in this setting. The study raises important issues in psychosocial care requiring further clarification and elucidation. These center around the nature of uncertainty, caring, and social support in BMT.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1994

What makes oncology nursing special? Walking the road together.

PURPOSE: To identify the factors that influence oncology nurses' decisions to enter nursing and specialize in oncology and to describe the role dimensions of oncology nursing practice. DESIGN: Multi-institutional, descriptive, qualitative. SETTING: Six sites in different regions of the United States; rural and urban cancer and noncancer centers. SAMPLE: 38 oncology nurses (mean age = 35 years; average time in nursing = 10 years and in oncology = 7 years; 47% bachelor's degree in nursing, 29% diploma, 13% associate degree in nursing, and 11% master's prepared). METHODS: Phenomenological; content analysis of interviews. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: Life events, career decision-making, personal and professional rewards, role dimensions of practice, caring behaviors. FINDINGS: Nurses said that their decisions to specialize in oncology were based on family experiences with cancer, the challenges of administering sophisticated cancer therapies, and influential role models. They reported that professional rewards are derived from valuing each patients as a 'whole person' and providing family-centered care. Nurses find that personal rewards and career survivorship are embedded in several ongoing discoveries: work offers a unique laboratory for learning about life in general, distancing maneuvers are necessary for self-preservation, and the fuzzy boundary between work and personal life must be constantly renegotiated. CONCLUSIONS: Oncology nurses find the best in the worst of situations, live fully the cancer experience by embracing their patients' heartaches and triumphs, share a collective sense of pride in their specialty, and report a high level of job satisfaction. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: Caring for the dying person with cancer is the most difficult aspect of oncology nursing practice and being with--being present in the moment, no matter what the outcome--is the most rewarding and ubiquitous caring behavior of oncology nurses.

Adult↗

PubMed1994

The meaning of oncology nursing: a phenomenological investigation.

PURPOSE: To describe the method used in a multisite study of the meaning of oncology nursing from the oncology nurses' perspectives. DESIGN: Multi-institutional, descriptive, qualitative. SETTING: Six sites in different regions of the United States; rural and urban cancer and noncancer centers. SAMPLE: 38 oncology nurses (mean age = 35 years; average time in nursing = 10 years and in oncology = 7 years; 47% bachelor's degree in nursing, 29% diploma, 13% associate degree in nursing, and 11% master's prepared). METHODS: Phenomenological; content analysis of interviews. FINDINGS: Nurses' experiences in caring for people with cancer have many similarities despite the differences among these nurses or their work settings. These similarities are described in this supplement. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: Many nurses said they had not described their experiences to interested listeners before. Providing these descriptions helped the nurses to see their work in new ways and led some of them to make changes in their personal and professional lives.

Adult↗

PubMed1994

Rewards and difficulties of oncology nursing.

PURPOSE: To describe oncology nurses' perceptions of the rewards and difficulties of their work. DESIGN: Multi-institutional, descriptive, qualitative. SETTING: Six sites in different regions of the United States; rural and urban cancer and noncancer centers. SAMPLE: 38 oncology nurses (mean age = 35 years; average time in nursing = 10 years and in oncology = 7 years; 47% bachelor's degree in nursing, 29% diploma, 13% associate degree in nursing, and 11% master's prepared). METHODS: Phenomenological; content analysis of interviews. FINDINGS: Nurses described sources and origins of both job stress and satisfaction. The three most important sources of rewards were patients, co-workers, and new skills. These sources of rewards also were described as sources of difficulties. Additional sources of difficulties include lack of competent administrators, lack of time, and life stresses. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: Nurses' experiences with work are shaped by both common and very individual and personal realities. Aspects that are rewarding also are difficult, and individual experiences and perceptions change the meaning of work and the needs that nurses have. Considering the findings in the context of nurses' lives may yield more fruitful approaches to providing support and resources that nurses need to be able to provide effective care for patients and their families.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1993