The purpose of the current study was to explore colorectal cancer survivors' information and support needs in relation to health concerns and health behaviour change.Face-to-face interviews were conducted with participants who had completed active treatment for cancer within the previous 2 years. Participants were colorectal cancer survivors (N = 24, men = 11, women = 13 M, age = 69.38 years, SD = 4.19) recruited from a hospital in Perth, Australia on the basis that they had existing morbidities that put them at increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Interview transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Five main themes emerged: bowel changes; Lack of knowledge concerning healthy eating and physical activity; conflicting information; desire for support; and, need for simple messages and strategies to stay healthy. Where dietary recommendations were provided, these were to resolve bowel problems rather than to promote healthy eating. The provision of lifestyle advice from the oncologists is limited and patients' lack knowledge of guidelines for diet and physical activity.Oncologists could provide patients with clear messages from the World Cancer Research Fund (2011); that is to increase physical activity and dietary fibre and reduce consumption of red meat, processed meat, alcohol and body fatness.
K E Y W O R D Scancer survivors, colorectal, diet, health behaviour, information, support
This research adds to accumulating body of evidence demonstrating that relatively short psycho-educational interventions can enable family caregivers to feel more prepared and competent in the role of supporting a dying relative. Further investigation is required to determine the longer term outcomes of such interventions.
Routine practice should include acknowledgement that an identity as mother exists alongside "patient." Questions to women about children and any concerns and issues they may have should also be routine.
A review of palliative care policies and bereavement support practices in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and Japan demonstrated 4 challenges: questions over providing universal versus targeted support; a lack of clear evidence driving service delivery; informal or no risk assessment; and limited or no evaluation of services. Bridging the gaps between the policy and practice of palliative care bereavement support requires acknowledging the challenges of medical and public health models, improving bereavement need assessment processes, enhancing the role of primary care providers, and extending research to provide an evidence-base for interventions.
The role of family and social support networks on grief experiences following the death of family member in a road traffic crash is explored. Twenty one bereaved informants were interviewed and the data were analysed using grounded theory methodology. We outline the ways in which a crash fatality impacts on familial and social relationships. The data clearly demonstrate that although the death of a loved one precipitated closer familial and social bonds in some instances, it was more common that those relationships deteriorated and collapsed.Implications for service delivery, grief education, and research are discussed.
Family and Social Networks 3Family and Social Networks after Bereavement: Experiences of Support, Change, and IsolationThe experience of grief is unique to each individual yet is influenced by many factors, including the circumstances of the death; the relationship to the deceased; the characteristics of the bereaved individual; the availability, type, and extent of support received by the bereaved, and whether or not the support is perceived as helpful by them. There is also an assortment of socio-cultural factors that affect grief, including the presence and perceived relevance of mourning rituals, customs, and traditions, attitudes toward death and dying, and the impact of the professionals who are related to death and grief (Center for the Advancement of Health, 2004; W.
A key theme in the bereavement literature is the recognition that every grief experience is unique and dependent on many variables, such as the circumstances of the death, characteristics of the bereaved individual, their relationship with the deceased, the provision and availability of support, and a myriad of sociocultural factors. Concurrently, there are corresponding efforts to define "normal" grief and delineate it from "complicated" grief experiences. The discord between these two potentially opposing statements remains a paradox evident within the three major tensions within the thanatological literature-the dominance of grief theories, the medicalization of grief, and the efficacy of grief interventions. Three recommendations for moving beyond the paradox are discussed-the provision of improved grief education for service providers, the bereaved, and the wider community; the conduct of research that emphasizes the context of grief and is relevant to service provision; and the examination of current grief interventions.A clear and consistent theme within the thanatological literature is the assertion that the grief experience is very much affected and influenced by a myriad of variables and the interactions between these variables. Various key reviews (e.g., Center for the Advancement
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