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Biomedical subjects

N Samarel

Publications and source records attributed to N Samarel.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

A resource kit for women with breast cancer: development and evaluation.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To describe the development and evaluation of the Resource Kit for Women With Breast Cancer, designed to facilitate adaptation to diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. DATA SOURCES: Distributed to more than 200 women with newly diagnosed breast cancer. Derived from the Roy Adaptation Model of Nursing and the literature. DATA SYNTHESIS: The kit may be helpful, particularly for women who are too overwhelmed by their situations to retain the vast amount of new information to which they are exposed. CONCLUSIONS: The kit has the potential to assist women to adapt physically, emotionally, functionally, and interpersonally by concisely combining numerous relevant resources in one place, thereby facilitating the location and review of specific information. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: The kit is a complete package that can be used independently of any professional support as a guide for women during individualized professional telephone support or as an adjunct to formal breast cancer support groups.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1998

Women's perceptions of group support and adaptation to breast cancer.

Formal cancer support groups are thought to assist women to adapt to the physiological and psychosocial sequelae of breast cancer. To shed some light on this untested clinical assumption, this Roy Adaptation Model of Nursing-based study was designed to explore women's own reports about their adaptation to breast cancer and their participation in support groups. This article reports the results of the quantitative content analysis of structured telephone interviews with 70 women who participated in group social support and education for breast cancer. Almost three-quarters of the women expressed a positive change in attitude towards breast cancer, and all regarded participation in the groups as positive. A majority reported adaptive physiological, self-concept, role function, and interdependence mode effects of breast cancer and group participation. Additional research is needed to show how different types of cancer support groups, including social support and education groups and psychotherapy groups, contribute to women's responses. Research is also needed to separate the effects of group social support and education from other sources of social support that may have contributed to the women's responses, and to further explore feelings of normalization expressed by some women.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1998

Effects of dialogue and therapeutic touch on preoperative and postoperative experiences of breast cancer surgery: an exploratory study.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To obtain preliminary data and determine the feasibility of a large-scale experimental study to test the efficacy of the Rogerian Science of Unitary Human Beings-based intervention of dialogue and therapeutic touch (TT) on pre- and postoperative anxiety and mood and postoperative pain from breast cancer surgery. DESIGN: Experimental. SETTING: Mid-Atlantic region; ambulatory. SAMPLE: 29 Caucasian and 2 African American English-speaking women with positive breast cancer biopsy (experimental, n = 14; control, n = 17), ranging in age from 31-84 years old (F = 55.6). METHODS: Treatments administered in subjects' homes within seven days prior to surgery and 24 hours after hospital discharge. Experimental treatment consisted of 10 minutes of TT and 20 minutes of dialogue. Control treatment consisted of 10 minutes of quiet time and 20 minutes of dialogue. Data (Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Affects Balance Scale, and Visual Analog Scale-Pain) were collected at the conclusion of each home visit. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: Anxiety, mood, and pain. FINDINGS: The experimental group had lower preoperative state anxiety than the control groups (p = 0.008). No difference was found for preoperative mood. No differences were found for any postoperative measure. CONCLUSIONS: A large-scale study of dialogue and TT would require changes in design and recruitment strategies. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: Nurses may provide more comprehensive care by incorporating dialogue and TT or quiet time into their pre- and postoperative care. Additional research, however, is recommended to determine the differential effects of dialogue, TT, and quiet time on women's experiences with breast cancer prior to incorporating these noninvasive modalities into clinical practice.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Effect of support groups with coaching on adaptation to early stage breast cancer.

The effects of 8-week cancer support groups (CSGs) with and without coaching on adaptation were tested in a sample of 181 women with newly diagnosed early stage breast cancer. CSG participation with coaching resulted in higher quality of relationship with significant other at CSG conclusion; this effect was not sustained 8 weeks later. CSG participation had no effect on symptom distress, emotional distress, or functional status. On average, symptom distress was low, emotional distress was moderate, and functional status was relatively high. Independent of CSGs, symptom distress decreased and functional status increased over time from entry into the study to 16 weeks later. Further research is needed to determine the optimal starting time and length for CSGs.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1997

Therapeutic touch, dialogue, and women's experiences in breast cancer surgery.

The article describes the development of a nursing intervention based on the science of unitary human beings that has the potential to help women have more positive experiences during the time of breast cancer surgery. The intervention, therapeutic touch and dialogue, is expected to result in decreased state anxiety and postoperative pain and a more positive affect balance. It is recommended that nurses maintain objective anecdotal records of their experiences with therapeutic touch and dialogue and that future research include randomized controlled clinical trials as well as studies to explore therapeutic touch's mechanism of action.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMed1996

Development and testing of the symptom experience scale.

The Symptom Experience Scale (SES) was designed to measure women's experience of symptoms associated with treatment for breast cancer. The SES, a modification of McCorkle's Symptom Distress Scale, was developed and tested in a sample of 252 women with breast cancer. Exploratory factor analysis yielded six factors, which used all 24 SES items and accounted for 83.2% of the variance. The factors were nausea and appetite, fatigue and sleep, concentration, appearance, bowel pattern, and pain. Cronbach's alpha internal consistency reliability coefficients ranged from 0.92 to 0.96; the alpha for the total SES was 0.94. Subscale to subscale correlations ranged from 0.21 to 0.56. Additional research is recommended with samples large enough to permit confirmatory factor analysis and determine the stability of the factor structure identified in the present study. Additional research also is recommended to determine the applicability of the SES for men and women of diverse ethnic groups with various types of cancer and other chronic illnesses.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Enhancing function in life transitions and serious illness.

Function, which encompasses functional ability and functional status, is discussed within the context of three conceptual models of nursing. Functional ability is the person's capacity to perform biological, psychological, and social activities, whereas functional status is the actual performance of those activities. Comprehensive assessment of function encompasses instrumental and expressive elements of functional ability and functional status, with attention given to the internal, external, and cultural factors that influence function. The goal of nursing interventions is to help the individual attain the highest possible and most desirable level of function.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1993

The effects of coaching in breast cancer support groups: a pilot study.

A pilot study was conducted to determine the feasibility of a large-scale study testing how cancer support groups (CSGs) with coaching affect adaptation to newly diagnosed, early-stage breast cancer. The investigators randomly assigned subjects (n = 64) to one of three treatment groups: a CSG with coaching, a CSG without coaching, or no CSG. Results of the pilot study indicated that the study intervention and methods of sample accrual and instrumentation were appropriate. Currently, a large-scale, randomized, controlled clinical trial is being conducted.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1992

The experience of receiving therapeutic touch.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe the patient's experience of receiving therapeutic touch (TT) treatments. The design was informed by phenomenology in the sense that it was searching for a definition of the lived experience of the phenomenon of TT. Data were obtained through one open-ended interview and a second clarifying interview of each subject. All data were subjected to content analysis. For participants, the lived experience of TT was described as a linear process that began with the perceived need for and decision to seek treatment. It progressed through one or more treatments and continued to have an impact upon the participants' lives. These findings were examined within the context of Martha Rogers' conceptual system. This study has shown that, for 20 participants receiving treatment, TT was a fulfilling multidimensional experience that facilitated personal growth. Such as experience can only enrich the lives of those who receive treatment. Certainly, a nursing intervention that can achieve such a positive influence has potential for use in all areas of nursing care and needs to be explored further.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Enhancing adaptation to breast cancer: the addition of coaching to support groups.

This article describes a framework for research involving a modification of traditional cancer support groups (CSGs) that includes the presence of a caring partner who acts as a coach to facilitate the woman's adaptation to the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. The modified CSG and relevant response variables were derived from the Roy Adaptation Model of Nursing. Using the successful models of childbirth and diabetes education, the concept of coaching was introduced to breast CSGs. A review of the literature provides support for reduced symptom distress, reduced emotional distress, greater functional status, and higher quality of interpersonal relations as appropriate outcomes of participation in CSGs with coaching. The results of a pilot study of support groups with coaching are reported, and the goals of a currently ongoing experimental study testing the intervention have been identified.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1989

Caring for the living and dying: a study of role transition.

The purpose of this descriptive study was to explore the ways a group of hospice nurses met the needs of both terminally and acutely ill patients, two groups with seemingly disparate needs. Constant comparisons revealed similarities and differences between nursing interactions with patients, generalizations with regard to overt and covert norms and behaviors, and relationships between expressive and instrumental behaviors. An explanation for the findings was found within the framework of nursing as caring in combination with the nurses' cognitive and affective preparation for their work.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Nursing in a hospital-based hospice unit.

The purpose of this ethnographic study was to describe and analyze the ways in which registered nurses interacted with those terminally ill and acutely ill patients typical of a hospital-based hospice unit. Participant observation and informal interviews were used to collect data. Field notes were analyzed systematically using a constant comparative method of qualitative analysis. Data analysis revealed that patients' responsiveness rather than "acute," or "terminal" labels determined the quality of the nurses' interactions with them. Humanistic caring was found to be the unifying focus of care for both acutely ill and terminally ill patients.

Adult↗