Determining the symptoms and coping methods of patients at home after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Aim This descriptive study was conducted to determine symptoms experienced at home in the early period by patients who received hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), identify coping behaviors used by the patients in the management of symptoms and assess the quality of life of these patients

Reflexology in the management of chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy: A pilot randomized controlled trial

Purpose: The current experimental study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of reflexology on the management of symptoms and functions of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) in cancer patients

Effects of alopecia on body image and quality of life of Turkish cancer women with or without headscarf

The aim of this study was to find out the effects of chemotherapy-related alopecia on body image and quality of life of Turkish women who have cancer with or without headscarves and factors affecting them

Discussing Sexuality with Cancer Patients: Oncology Nurses Attitudes and Views

Background: Sexual health and function frequently are overlooked by healthcare professionals despite being identified as an essential aspect of patient care. Patients with cancer have identified sexuality issues as being of equal importance to other quality-of-life issues. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the views and attitudes of oncology nurses caring for cancer patients regarding sexual counseling. Participants and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on the web site of the Turkish Oncology Nurses Association. With the participation of 87 nurses from oncology departments, the study determined that most nurses do not evaluate and counsel patients regarding their sexual problems and many difficulties prevent them from focussing on sexual health. The most important reasons for ignoring sexual counseling were the absence of routine regarding sexual counseling in oncology departments, the belief that the patient may become ashamed and the nurses' self-evaluation that they have insufficient skills and education to counsel in this subject. Conclusions: The most important variables in sexual evaluation and counseling are long years of service in the profession and a postgraduate degree

Effect of myocardial infarction on female sexual function in women

The aim of this study was to assess sexual function in female patients with myocardial infarction (MI)

A valid and reliable tool in assessing patient education: the Patient Education Implementation Scale

Aim This study aimed to develop a valid and reliable tool for assessing the frequency of nurses' implementation of patient education in line with the stages of determining needs, assessment and planning, implementation, and evaluation and documentation. Background Patient education is important in terms of the patient's completion of a reliable and effective treatment process. Patient education is one of the main responsibilities of a nurse. No valid and reliable study that assessed nurses' patient education process implementation was found in the literature. Methods This instrument development study was conducted with 583 nurses working at university, private, and research and training hospitals located in the province of Istanbul in Turkey. The items of the Patient Education Implementation Scale were developed in line with the literature and expert opinions. The analyses involved descriptive statistics and psychometric analyses. The level of statistical significance was accepted as P < .05. Results The content validity index was calculated as 0.96 for the 42-item Patient Education Implementation Scale, which explained 63.37% of the total variance. The scale items whose factor loads were 0.45 or higher were divided into four factors as (a) determining education needs, (b) assessment and planning, (c) implementation, and (d) evaluation and documentation. The Cronbach's alpha coefficients were 0.78-0.95 for the subdimensions and 0.97 for the general scale. Conclusion It was determined that the Patient Education Implementation Scale is a valid and reliable tool

The validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Quality of Life Index [QLI] (Cancer version)

WOS: 000282146600010PubMed ID: 20493766Purpose: Quality of life always has become an important concern in the health care of cancer patients. This descriptive study was planned to assess the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of Quality of Life Index - Cancer version in the assessment of the quality of life of lung cancer patients. Method: The validity and reliability of the scale was performed in two phases. Phase I focused on construction of the Turkish version of the instrument and pilot testing. The scale was translated using the back-translation technique. Five nursing experts reviewed the translation for inconsistencies with the original English form. The comprehensiveness and clarity of the scale was assessed with 20 patients. Phase II included factor analysis and psychometric assessment of the scale. The final version of the scale was pretested with 154 cancer patients. Results: According to the recommendations of the expert panel, some items were revised and modified, and the Turkish version of the scale was created. The content validity index (CVI) was 97%. Patients cited that this questionnaire was easy to read and understood. Differently from the original QLI scale, factor analysis was changed the domain of some items. Test-retest coefficients for items were between 0.63 and 0.95 (p < 0.05). The scale showed high internal reliability, Cronbach's alpha values for domain varied between 0.63 and 0.85 and was 0.89 for the tool. Conclusion: The Turkish version of the QLI was sufficient and suitable tool in evaluating the quality of life of lung cancer patients in Turkey. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Taxane-induced nail changes: Predictors and efficacy of the use of frozen gloves and socks in the prevention of nail toxicity

Purpose: The primary endpoint of this study was to determine predictors of taxane-related nail toxicity. The secondary endpoint was to evaluate the efficacy of the use of frozen gloves and socks in the prevention of taxane-related nail toxicity