Related Experiment Videos
CE: Assessing and Managing Spiritual Distress in Cancer Survivorship
Timiya S Nolan1, Kristine Browning, Jacqueline B Vo
1Timiya S. Nolan is an assistant professor in the College of Nursing at Ohio State University (OSU), Columbus, and a nurse scientist at the OSU Wexner Medical Center. Kristine Browning is an associate professor of clinical nursing and assistant dean for graduate clinical programs in the OSU College of Nursing and an NP at the OSU Wexner Medical Center-James Cancer Hospital. At the time this article was written, Jacqueline B. Vo was a PhD candidate at the University of Alabama, Birmingham (UAB); she is now a graduate of that program. Rachel J. Meadows is a predoctoral fellow in the OSU College of Public Health. Raheem J. Paxton is an associate professor in the UAB College of Community Health Sciences. This article grew out of the lead author's doctoral dissertation, the writing of which was funded by the American Cancer Society and the Susan G. Komen Graduate Traineeship in Disparities Research. Contact author: Timiya S. Nolan, nolan.261@osu.edu. The authors and planners have disclosed no potential conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise. A podcast with the authors is available at www.ajnonline.com.
Abstract:
More than 67% of people diagnosed with cancer in the United States are alive five years after receiving the diagnosis; but even if they are cancer free, the effects of the disease and its treatment will remain with them for the rest of their lives. Distress, which can be of a psychological, social, physical, or spiritual nature, is common among cancer survivors. Spiritual distress is a broad concept that is not necessarily associated with any specific religious beliefs, practices, or affiliations. Both religious and nonreligious people may have a strong sense of spirituality and may experience spiritual distress at various points throughout cancer survivorship. But clinicians often neglect to explore the spiritual components of distress, and despite the well-established association between spiritual well-being and quality of life, few of the instruments designed to assess the care needs of cancer survivors address spiritual needs. Through a composite clinical case, this article illustrates how nurses can incorporate into practice evidence-based recommendations for assessing and managing spiritual distress in cancer survivors.
Related Concept Videos
01:21Cancer Survival Analysis
01:30Stress Prevention and Stress Management Techniques VI
Motivation and Self-Determination
Motivation, the driving force behind behavior, plays a pivotal role at every stage of the change process. The research...
01:27Nursing Ethical Principles II
Consider the following scenario, which illustrates how these principles are applied in the care of Mr. John, a fifty-year-old teacher diagnosed with metastatic liver cancer.
Initially, Mr. John's...
01:15Techniques of therapeutic communication I: Active Listening, Sharing Observations, Validation, and Using Touch
Therapeutic communication is not the same as social interaction. Social interaction has no goal or purpose and consists of casual information sharing, whereas therapeutic communication has a plan or purpose for the conversation. Therapeutic...
01:16Kidney Transplant III: Nursing Management
02:49Cancer Therapies
However, cancer treatments can pose several challenges, as therapies used to kill cancer cells are generally also toxic to normal cells. Moreover, cancer cells mutate rapidly and can develop resistance to chemical agents or radiation therapy. Besides, all types of cancer cells may not respond to the same therapy. Some cancer cells respond to one...