Evaluating beauty care provided by the hospital to women suffering from breast cancer: qualitative aspects.
OBJECTIVE
Cancer patients are offered more and more access to beauty care during their stay in the hospital. This kind of intervention has not been evaluated yet. Primary objective of our research was to determine what type of evaluation strategy to be implemented (as a supportive care with quality of life and/or medical benefits; as a service providing immediate comfort); intermediate objective was to investigate in scientific terms (psychological, sociological) the experience of beauty care by patients.


METHODS
Sixty patients (all users of beauty care provided by hospital, 58 female, most of them treated for breast cancer, two male, mean age 53 years) and 11 nurses and physicians, from four French cancer centres were included. We used direct observation and semi-structured interviews, conducted by a sociologist and a psychologist; different types of beauty care were concerned.


RESULTS
All the interviewed patients were satisfied. Patients appreciated acquiring savoir-faire on how to use make-up and on personal image enhancement. Psychological and social well-being benefits were mentioned. The beauty care was not alleged to be reducing the side effects of the treatments, but it had helped patients to accept or bear the burden of them. Providing care beyond that which is directly curative was appreciated by the patients as a sign that they were treated as a "whole" person.


CONCLUSIONS
The survey brings valuable clues concerning beauty care experience by cancer patients; it suggests the relevance of quantitative evaluation of the immediate and long-term effects on the quality of life.
Amiel
Philippe
P
Institut de cancérologie Gustave-Roussy, 39, rue Camille Desmoulins, 94805, Villejuif cedex, France. amiel@igr.fr
Dauchy
Sarah
S
Bodin
Julie
J
Cerf
Céline
C
Zenasni
Franck
F
Pezant
Elisabeth
E
Teller
Anne-Marie
AM
André
Fabrice
F
DiPalma
Mario
M
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001504:Beauty; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D002173:Cancer Care Facilities; D003358:Cosmetics; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011788:Quality of Life
D003358:Cosmetics