Background:The global COVID-19 pandemic has led to massive disruptions in daily life, business, education, lifestyle and economies worldwide. Nurses are a professional group who care directly for COVID-19 patients and thus face direct exposure to the virus. The nurses who work on the front lines during this period put their own well-being at risk to care for these patients.Purpose/Aim: The aim of this study was to identify the experiences and challenges faced by nurses working in pandemic clinics in Turkey during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: This qualitative study was based on semi-structured in-depth interviews conducted through the mobile application Whatsapp with 19 nurses who were actively working in pandemic clinics. Due to the pandemic, the snowball sampling method was used to reach the sample group. Interviews were continued until data saturation was achieved. All interviews were audio recorded and later transcribed.The study data were interpreted according to themes identified using thematic analysis. Throughout the study, the authors followed the COREQ checklist. Results:The experiences of nurses caring for COVID-19 patients were summarised into five major themes: psychosocial adaptation, protection, difficulty in care and treatment, access to information and working conditions. Conclusion:Nurses caring for COVID-19 patients in Turkey have been affected psychologically, socially and physiologically. They experienced stigmatisation, exhaustion and burnout. One of the biggest challenges for the nurses was difficulty providing physical care and treatment due to the use of personal protective equipment. Nurses want improved compensation in addition to applause from the public. Interventions to help bolster nurses' psychological and physiological strength are recommended. Relevance to clinical practice:This study emphasised nurses' psychologically, socially and physiologically affected. Therefore, improvements in financial and moral support would provide psychological reinforcement for nurses during the epidemic. Informing the public is necessary to reduce the stigmatisation of nurses working in pandemic clinics.

It may be suggested that taking precautions at units, providing better working conditions, defining the duties of nurses and providing further dialysis education for nurses may decrease burnout rates.

Although burnout has been researched widely with regard to nurses working in different settings, until now it has not been investigated among stem cell transplantation unit nurses. This study's aim was to determine the burnout level of 57 nurses who were working in stem cell transplantation units in Turkey. The research instruments that were used included a form of demographic characteristics and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. For all the hematopoietic stem cell transplantation nurses, the mean subscale scores for emotional exhaustion were the highest, followed by personal accomplishment and then depersonalization. The burnout level rose with increasing age and duration on the job. Interventions to reduce burnout are needed at both the administrative and organizational levels. In addition, it is essential to address and prevent the problems that are related to burnout, especially among nurses who work in the same unit for a long time.

Objectives The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected the caregivers of people with all chronic diseases, including people with cancer (PWC). This study was conducted to determine the impact of anxiety and spiritual well-being on the care burden of caregivers of PWC during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design This cross-sectional descriptive study included 250 caregivers of hematology and oncology patients registered with a cancer support association. All participants completed the following self-report questionnaires: the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS), Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale (GAD-7), and the Zarit Caregiver Burden Interview (ZBI). Results Most (82.4%) of the caregivers expressed fear that their patient may contract COVID-19, and 42.0% stated that they had difficulty getting to the hospital. The caregivers’ mean ZBI score was 21.06 ± 14.64, their mean GAD-7 score was 14.51 ± 6.02, and their mean SWBS score was 111.50 ± 16.84. According to the results of regression analysis, SWBS and GAD-7 scores had a significant effect on the ZBI score ( p < 0.05). Conclusion In this study, anxiety explained most of the care burden during COVID-19. Therefore, during the COVID-19 pandemic, it may be beneficial to implement practices to promote spirituality and reduce anxiety in caregivers of PWC. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00520-021-06611-0.

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Vaccination is the best strategy to prevent influenza infection that is a potential cause of morbidity and mortality in immunosuppressed patients. Here, we evaluated the factors that may affect serological response to influenza vaccine in patients who have undergone hematopoetic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Sixty-one HSCT recipients were included in the study during the 2007-2008 influenza season. Serum samples prior to vaccination and 6-10 weeks after vaccination were collected. Samples were assayed for antibodies to influenza virus A/H1N1, A/H3N2, and B strains by hemagglutination-inhibition assay. The patients were followed in terms of clinical symptoms up to the next influenza season and for adverse effects within a month after vaccination. Overall, pre-vaccine seroprotection rate against all vaccine antigens (A/H1N1, A/H3N2, and B antigens) was 45.1%, post-vaccine seroprotection rate 91% and seroconversion rate was 28.3%. Seroconversion rates were found to be low against B in patients who were vaccinated in the late influenza season (p = 0.018; respectively). Five patients (10.9%) had no immune response against H1N1. Adverse events were reported in 19.6% (n = 9/46) of the patients. In conclusion, the patients should be vaccinated as early as possible in the influenza season, before they are exposed to the virus.

Objective:Stem cell transplantation is usually performed in an effort to extend the patient's life span and to improve their quality of life. This study was conducted to determine the postoperative physiological effects experienced by patients who had undergone autologous and allogeneic stem cell transplantation.Methods:The research is a descriptive study conducted with a sample of 60 patients at Stem Cell Transplantation Units in Ankara. Percentile calculation and chi-square tests were used to evaluate the data.Results:When a comparison was made between patients who had undergone allogeneic Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and those who had undergone autologous HSCT, results indicated that problems occurred more often for the allogeneic HSCT patients. The problems included: Digestion (94.3%), dermatological (76.7%), cardiac and respiratory (66.7%), neurological (66.7%), eye (56.7%), infections (26.7%) and Graft Versus Host Disease (5 patients). Furthermore, the problems with pain (50%), numbness and tingling (40%), and speech disorders (3 patients) were observed more often in autologous BMT patients.Conclusion:Autologous and allogeneic patients experienced most of physical problems due to they receive high doses of chemotherapy. Therefore, it is recommended that an interdisciplinary support team approach should be usedtohelp reduce and manage the problems that may arise during patient care.

SummaryObjectives: This study is performed with the aim of prospectively analyzing the factors that affect pain, anxiety, and depression in cases for whom bone marrow aspiration and biopsy are performed and the relationships among them. Methods: This study consisted of 90 patients who consulted to Department of Hematology, Faculty of Medicine, Uludag University, and followed-up for bone marrow aspiration and biopsy indication. The data was gathered using a personal information form, Hospital Anxiety Depression scale, and Wong-Baker face pain scale where generally face expressions exist. Results: The average age of the patients who participated in the study was 50.90 years (16.59), and the pain level after the application was 1.98 (1.33). After the application, a positive relationship is determined between the pain level and anxiety (r=−0.79; p=0.02), whereas this has a negative relationship with age (r=0.78; p=0.03). Conclusion: As a result, pain develops depending on bone marrow aspiration and biopsy; therefore, taking precautions aimed at alleviating pain and evaluation of pain before and after the application within the scope of total maintenance have been suggested.Keywords: Anxiety-depression; bone marrow aspiration and biopsy; pain. ÖzetAmaç: Bu çalışma kemik iliği aspirasyonu ya da biyopsisi yapılan olguların anksiyete-depresyon ve ağrısını etkileyen faktörlerle birlikte, bunlar arasındaki ilişkinin prospektif olarak incelenmesi amacıyla yapılmıştır. Gereç ve Yöntem: Çalışmanın örneklemini Uludağ Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Hematoloji Bilim Dalı' nda takip edilen kemik iliği aspirasyonu ve biyopsi endikasyonu olup yapılmak üzere başvuran 90 hasta oluşturmuştur. Veriler kişisel bilgi formu, Hastane Anksiyete Depresyon (HAD-S) Ölçeği ve görsel olarak yüz ifadelerinin yer aldığı Wong-Baker yüz ağrı skalası kullanılarak toplanmıştır. Bulgular: Çalışmaya katılan hastaların yaş ortalaması 50.90 (16.59), işlem sonrası ağrı şiddeti 1.98 (1.33)'dur. Kadınlarda ve biyopsi işleminde ağrı daha yüksektir. İşlem sonrası ağrı şiddeti ve anksiyete arasında pozitif yönde (r=0.97; p=0.01), ağrı ile depresyon (r=-0.79; p=0.02) ve yaş (r=-0.78, p=0.03) arasında negatif yönde ilişki saptanmıştır. Sonuç: Kemik iliği aspirasyonu ve biyopsisine bağlı olarak ağrı gelişmektedir bu nedenle bütüncül bakım kapsamında ağrının işlem öncesi ve işlem sonrası değerlendirilmesi ve ağrının azaltılmasına yönelik önlemler alınması önerilmiştir.Anahtar sözcükler: Ağrı; anksiyete ve depresyon; kemik iliği biyopsi ve aspirasyonu.