Abstract
Introduction/objectives
Communication between health care professionals and patients is fundamental in cancer care and can impact on patients' ability to cope with their disease. Cancer treatment and care have increasingly shifted towards more ambulatory services. Although patients with cancer predominantly are treated in outpatient clinics today, little is known about what constitutes communication when the encounters between patients and nurses are brief and takes place in outpatient settings. The aim of the study was to explore communication between nurses and patients with cancer undergoing chemotherapy in an outpatient clinic.
Methods
The study is based on ethnographic fieldwork that explored through multiple observations and adhoc interviews, the communicative practice between nurses and patients with cancer. A thematic analysis guided by Interpretive Description was carried out to identify characteristics and variations in the nurse-patient communication.
Results
We identified three themes: Communication on the run, reflects the nurses’ multitasking approach to communication; Treatment-centered communication illustrates how topics and issues related to the patient’s treatment guided conversations, playing a pivotal role in knowledge sharing and finally, Brief and implied communication reveals a curt form of communication in the outpatient clinic.
Discussion/implications
The communication between patients and nurses were characterized and framed by the outpatient clinic as a setting where efficiency is prioritized. This creates a certain flow, which influences both the content of the communication (what is communicated – and what is not) and the form of the communication (how communication unfolds). Cancer treatment and care in the outpatient clinic has cost benefits, however, efficiency can change the way care is given and overlook the key role nurse-patient communication plays for the patients´ ability to cope with cancer in their lives.
Communication between health care professionals and patients is fundamental in cancer care and can impact on patients' ability to cope with their disease. Cancer treatment and care have increasingly shifted towards more ambulatory services. Although patients with cancer predominantly are treated in outpatient clinics today, little is known about what constitutes communication when the encounters between patients and nurses are brief and takes place in outpatient settings. The aim of the study was to explore communication between nurses and patients with cancer undergoing chemotherapy in an outpatient clinic.
Methods
The study is based on ethnographic fieldwork that explored through multiple observations and adhoc interviews, the communicative practice between nurses and patients with cancer. A thematic analysis guided by Interpretive Description was carried out to identify characteristics and variations in the nurse-patient communication.
Results
We identified three themes: Communication on the run, reflects the nurses’ multitasking approach to communication; Treatment-centered communication illustrates how topics and issues related to the patient’s treatment guided conversations, playing a pivotal role in knowledge sharing and finally, Brief and implied communication reveals a curt form of communication in the outpatient clinic.
Discussion/implications
The communication between patients and nurses were characterized and framed by the outpatient clinic as a setting where efficiency is prioritized. This creates a certain flow, which influences both the content of the communication (what is communicated – and what is not) and the form of the communication (how communication unfolds). Cancer treatment and care in the outpatient clinic has cost benefits, however, efficiency can change the way care is given and overlook the key role nurse-patient communication plays for the patients´ ability to cope with cancer in their lives.
| Translated title of the contribution | Hvad karakteriserer kommunikationen mellem patienter med kræft og sygeplejersker i et onkologisk ambulatorium |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Publication date | 10 Oct 2017 |
| Publication status | Published - 10 Oct 2017 |
| Event | International Conference on Communication in Healthcare - Baltimore, United States Duration: 8 Oct 2017 → 11 Oct 2017 http://www.achonline.org/Events/International-Conference-ICCH/2017/Schedule |
Conference
| Conference | International Conference on Communication in Healthcare |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | United States |
| City | Baltimore |
| Period | 08/10/17 → 11/10/17 |
| Internet address |
Keywords
- disease, health science and nursing