Breast cancer patients--the support given by nurses

The purpose of this part of a larger study on breast cancer patients' recovery was to analyse the support that nurses offer breast cancer patients before, during, and after their hospitalization, as seen from the nurses' viewpoint. The sample group consisted of 125 registered and radiological nurses at university and regional hospitals in southwestern Finland. A questionnaire was devised and mailed to the subjects. The statistical analysis of the data was based on percentage distributions, with correlations, cross-tabulation, and loglinear models. The nurses reported that patient support is inadequate before and after hospitalization. However, most nurses maintained that the patients were well supported in hospital by the health care staff. The same nurses considered that their duty was to offer information and try to ensure continuity of care for the patient. They regarded their work as challenging, and they paid more attention to patients' relatives, too. However, there were differences of opinion as to whether the nurses actually gave support or not. We concluded that the concept support and its different implications for different groups (e.g. patients, nurses) must be studied in more detail, since the nurses' viewpoint is the one upon which care is currently based.