Finding new bearings: a qualitative study on the transition from inpatient to ambulatory care of patients with acute myeloid leukemia

Abstract

AML patients are now leaving acute care settings sicker and earlier. Considering their perceptions can inform interventions to facilitate adjustment during the transition to outpatient care.

One day at a time: Improving the patient experience during and after intensive chemotherapy for younger and older AML patients

“…An additional coping strategy adopted by leukemia survivors in our study was to avoid considering or thinking about chemotherapy side effects in advance. This approach of taking things one day at a time was widely used by YS and OS and was also reported by Nissim et al [22].…”

“…Knowing this could help health care professionals (HCPs) such as doctors and nurses better prepare newly diagnosed patients. Additionally, despite the influence of age on disease biology and response to treatment, age-related differences in recovery have not been addressed to date [21,22]. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the survivorship issues encountered by AML survivors 6 months after diagnosis and who had just completed successfully IC, and explore if these survivorship issues are different for younger and older survivors.…”

“…http Other studies have suggested that a significant proportion of AML patients suffer from ongoing fatigue and one-third had significant depressive symptoms [19]; emotional, role, and social function remain impaired 12 months after diagnosis [20]. A qualitative study suggested that a diagnosis of AML is associated with significant psychological distress [21,22]. Qualitative studies with patients with various hematological malignancies including AML undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation have identified a state of fluctuation between fear and hope which extended from diagnosis to recovery phases [23][24][25].…”

Research agenda for life-threatening cancer

“…Patients expressed a need to understand their long-term care plan. There is a need for interventions that will facilitate adjustment from inpatient care to ambulatory care (Nissim et al, 2014).…”

Keep your mind off negative things: coping with long-term effects of acute myeloid leukemia (AML)

“…Likewise, two recent cross-sectional studies on newly diagnosed AML patients receiving IC and one longitudinal study of AML patients undergoing prolonged chemotherapy documented a high prevalence of traumatic stress symptoms, intense worrying and sadness, uncertainty about durable remission, and fear of cancer recurrence as serious threat to psychological well-being [4,5,8]. Correspondingly, several qualitative studies investigating patients' perspectives on the initial phase of leukemia diagnosis, IC, and bone marrow transplantation (BMT) noted a sense of shock, emotional numbness, threat, insecurity, uncertainty, and fear regarding diagnosis, invasive procedures, cancer recurrence, and transplant rejection [9][10][11][12]. Although data from the initial phase of leukemia diagnosis and treatment may provide some guidance, additional research is needed to explore longer-term physical and psychosocial implications of leukemia and inform effective care plans to enhance quality of life in leukemia survivorship.…”