Over 14,000 patients aged 15-24 are estimated to be diagnosed with cancer in the EU each year. Teenagers and Young Adults (TYA) often fall down gaps between children's and adults cancer services. The specific challenges of providing optimal care to them are described, but we present a summary of recent progress. Progress to overcome these challenges is happening at different rates across Europe. We summarise the European national projects in this field but more recently we have seen the beginnings of European co-ordination. Within the EU FP7 European Network for Cancer Research in Children and Adolescents program (ENCCA) a specific European Network for Teenagers and Young Adults with Cancer (ENTYAC) has held a series of scientific meetings, including professionals, patients and caregivers. This group has proposed unanswered research questions and agreed key features of a high quality service that can improve outcomes for TYA with cancer, including the primacy of collaboration between adult and pediatric services to eliminate the gap in the management of TYA with cancer.
Findings revealed the need for professional education for nurses to ensure comprehensive, consistent patient education and development of written materials for patients receiving oral CT treatment.
In the transition between dependent childhood and independent young adulthood, teenagers and young adults (TYAs) are extremely vulnerable when diagnosed with cancer and while undergoing treatment. Nurses working on a youth unit for patients aged 15 to 22 years developed a nursing program that aims at supporting these young patients and their significant others to maintain, establish, and strengthen their social network during the treatment period. This article presents a grounded theory study that explored how the network-focused program was perceived by TYAs with cancer and their significant others. A theoretical account is presented on the meanings and actions that the inherent processes and interactions created. Twelve TYAs and 19 significant others participated. Data were generated through interviews, observations, and informal conversations. Embracing the program and building strength were the 2 subcategories that linked to a core concept of keeping their world together. The findings show that nurses are in a unique position to enhance and support the efforts of these young patients and their significant others in connecting with the social network that extends beyond the family and includes the wider social network.
Network-focused nursing--a new concept--was generated in a grounded theory study of nurses, teenager and young adults with cancer and their significant others. This article explores and clarifies the concept to prevent it from being normalized and taken for granted in everyday clinical practice and in the literature, and from being limited in growth and meanings. The integrated approach by Meleis combined with the Hybrid Model by Schwartz-Barcott and Kim are used for analysis. Antecedents, attributes and consequences are identified. Network-focused nursing has potential to advance nursing science and to be implemented in other areas of patient care.
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