Humanistic nursing tailored to the needs of young men with cancer

Abstract

The goal of this study is to describe and understand humanistic nursing that is tailored to the needs of young men (18–39 years) with cancer. Eight young men with cancer (n = 8, average age = 28 years) were interviewed individually. Two themes emerged from the interviews: (1) trust between nurse and patient is paramount; and (2) this patient population has needs that are not currently being met through the humanistic nursing approach. The results of the iterative qualitative analysis of the data suggest that humanistic nursing tailored to young men with cancer should address their need to express their feelings, to be active and to receive psychological support. Keywords: nursing care, patient experience, young adults, men, cancer, humanistic, qualitative research, Canada