Information needs of cancer patients receiving chemotherapy at a day‐case unit in Northern Ireland

Abstract

· Recent restructuring of cancer services in the United Kingdom and advances in cancer chemotherapy have resulted in the majority of chemotherapy being delivered on an outpatient basis.· Patients receiving chemotherapy are at risk of developing multiple problems and increased anxiety levels and are now more likely to encounter these problems outside the hospital setting. Therefore, providing all the necessary information at chemotherapy sessions is crucial to self-care activities and coping. · A study was carried out to investigate the information needs of patients at various stages of chemotherapy treatment and this article reports these needs at the beginning of treatment. · Most patients wanted to receive all possible information about their condition and reported satisfaction with the information provided. · The overwhelming ®nding was lack of information given to patients regarding family relationships. Whilst almost all patients wanted this information, more than half reported that it had not been given.

Development of a Novel Remote Patient Monitoring System

“…With the recent shift from inpatient to ambulatory care, the numbers of patients with cancer receiving treatment on an outpatient basis have increased dramatically; this can be translated to more people having to manage treatment-related toxicities at home without direct supervision from health professionals. 25 The use of e-health technologies such as mobile information and real-time communications technology may be instrumental in overcoming such barriers. 26 In that sense, enhancement of the care provided to people with cancer can be translated into reduction in symptom prevalence and/or burden and, therefore, reduction in unnecessary hospital admissions, inpatient days, or outpatient visits.…”

Evaluation of a mobile phone-based, advanced symptom management system (ASyMS©) in the management of chemotherapy-related toxicity

“…The restructuring of cancer services 2,12 may also be seen as a potential barrier to the delivery of effective symptom management. With the implementation of new models of care 2,3 designed to deliver services as locally as possible and the shift from inpatient to ambulatory care, means that more patients are receiving treatments on an out-patient basis, resulting in them having to manage the majority of the associated side effects at home without direct supervision from health care personnel 13 .…”

Children and Adolescents with Cancer: experiences with Chemotherapy

“…The adolescent participants in the study saw chemotherapy as something that provokes different reactions in the organism, something that certainly could be milder and cause fewer undesirable effects: Despite the displeasure with the situation, there is a positive attitude toward chemotherapy because they believe that this therapy may be the chance for the recuperation of life (4,20) . Contrasting with this idea, the adolescents point to the suffering, during the moments of greatest intensity of the collateral effects of chemotherapy, as responsible for also discouraging the continuation of treatment: Cicogna EC, Nascimento LC, Lima RAG.…”