Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-x5gtn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-25T20:27:21.165Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Caring for the spiritual pain of patients with advanced cancer: A phenomenological approach to the lived experience

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 August 2006

KEIKO TAMURA ,
KAZUKO KIKUI  and
MICHIYO WATANABE
KEIKO TAMURA
Affiliation:
Department of Medical Ethics, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan
KAZUKO KIKUI
Affiliation:
School of Nursing, Kansai University of Social Welfare, Osaka, Japan
MICHIYO WATANABE
Affiliation:
College of Nursing, Aichi Medical University, Aichi, Japan
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this research was to reveal, from the perspective of the “lived experience” shared by cancer patients and their nurses, how patients facing death create lived experience in the context of palliative care. This research also aims to elucidate the meaning nurses find in patients' experiences while caring for their patients.

Methods: The participants in this study were cancer patients who were given opportunities to discuss events and concerns in their daily lives, with the interactions guided by the researchers. Transcriptions of conversations with the patients were analyzed using the method for empirical data classification set forth by Giorgi (1985) with appropriate modification.

Results: This study found that when the nurse correctly interprets the meaning of the concerns (Heidegger, 1962) of the patient facing death and shares that meaning with the patient, fundamental questions naturally arise for the patient. Answering these questions becomes possible only through interactions that require the reexamination of the values of the patient and the nurse.

Significance of research: This research elucidates the spiritual pain experienced by cancer patients and discusses opportunities for nurses to address the spiritual care of these patients.

Keywords

Advanced cancer patientCaringSpiritual painPhenomenological approachLived experience
Type
Research Article
Information
Palliative & Supportive Care , Volume 4 , Issue 2 , June 2006 , pp. 189 - 196
Copyright
© 2006 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Bahnson, C.B. (1980). Stress and cancer: The state of the art, Part 1. Psychomatics, 21, 975.Google Scholar
Bahnson, C.B. (1981). Stress and cancer: The state of the art, Part 2. Psychomatics, 22, 207.Google Scholar
Benner, P. & Wrubel, J. (1989). The Primacy of Caring: Stress and Coping in Health and Illness. pp. 47–49. Menlo Park: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.
Bishop, A.H. & Scudder, J.R. (1997). A phenomenological interpretation of holistic nursing. Journal of Holistic Nursing, 15, 103–111.Google Scholar
Giorgi, A. (1985). Phenomenology and Psychological Research. Pittsburgh: Duquesne University Press.
Heidegger, M. (1962). Being and Time. Macquarrie, J. & Robinson, E. (trans.). New York: Harper and Row.
Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. (1996). JCAHO and spiritual care. Chicago: Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.
Kawa, M. (2005). The spiritual pain of patients suffering from terminal cancer and being cared for at Japanese palliative care units. Journal of Death and Life Studies, 5, 48–82 (in Japanese).Google Scholar
Mitsui, S. (2004). From Cure to Care. pp. 124–129. Tokyo: Keiso Shobo (in Japanese).
Morita, M., Ihara, C., Kurihara, Y., et al. (2004a). Palliative care: Spiritual care for terminally ill cancer patients. The Japanese Journal of Psychiatry, 19, 267–274 (in Japanese).Google Scholar
Morita, T., Kawa, M., Honke, Y., et al. (2004b). Existential concern of terminally ill cancer patients receiving specialized palliative care in Japan. Supportive Care in Cancer, 12, 137–140.Google Scholar
Morita, T., Tei, Y., Inoue, S., et al. (2001). Care for spiritual and existential suffering of terminally ill cancer patients: Integration by systematic review. Japanese Journal of Palliative Medicine, 3, 444–456 (in Japanese).Google Scholar
Murata, H. (2003). Spiritual pain and its care in patients with terminal cancer: Construction and conceptual framework by philosophical approach. Palliative and Supportive Care, 1, 15–21.Google Scholar
Murata, H. & Ozawa, T. (2004). Spiritual care in patients with terminal cancer. The Japanese Journal of Clinical Nursing, 30, 1450–1464 (in Japanese).Google Scholar
The National Health Services Confederation. (1996). Spiritual care in NHS: A Guide for Purchases and Providers. London: Nahat.
National Hospice Organization. (1988). Standards for a Hospice Program.
Saunders, C. (1988). Spiritual pain. Journal of Palliative Care, 4, 29–32.Google Scholar
Tamura, K. (2002). Care for the spiritual pain of patients suffering from terminal cancer. The Japanese Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care, 12, 82–92 (in Japanese).Google Scholar
Tamura, K. (2005). Spiritual care for patients with terminal cancer. The Japanese Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care, 15, 396–401 (in Japanese).Google Scholar
World Health Organization. (1990). Cancer pain relief and palliative care. WHO technical report series No. 840. Geneva: World Health Organization.
World Health Organization. (2002). National cancer control programmes: Policies and managerial guidelines. 2nd ed. Geneva: World Health Organization.