title: Experience of nursing support from the perspective of patients with cancer in mainland China.
abstract: This study was conducted to understand patients' experiences of nursing support, to identify gaps between patients' expected needs and the nursing support they received, and to explore reasons for such disparity. A qualitative study with a phenomenological approach was used. A purposive sample of 22 patients with different types of cancer was recruited and interviewed using semistructured guidelines. The data were analyzed using phenomenological analytic methods. Several needs regarding nursing support were expressed, including informational, psychological, clinical, care coordination and communication needs, and there were some unmet or partially-met needs. Reasons for the disparities covered both patient- and nurse-related factors, including patients' lack of awareness regarding how to acquire professional assistance and reluctance to express their needs, and nurses' lack of active communication with patients, inability to provide specific support, and limited resources for coordination. The expectations of nursing support did not always correspond with the actual delivery of nursing care. A tailored intervention is warranted to meet patients' expectations, which might contribute to quality-of-care improvements.
authors: School of Nursing, Anhui Medical University, Anhui, China.
authors: Yongxia
authors: Y
authors: Song
authors: School of Nursing, Anhui Medical University, Anhui, China.
authors: Xiaoqing
authors: X
authors: Lv
authors: School of Nursing, Anhui Medical University, Anhui, China.
authors: Jingjing
authors: J
authors: Liu
authors: School of Nursing, Anhui Medical University, Anhui, China.
authors: Dan
authors: D
authors: Huang
authors: School of Nursing, Anhui Medical University, Anhui, China.|Anhui Provincial Nursing International Research Center, Anhui, China.
authors: Jingfang
authors: J
authors: Hong
authors: School of Nursing, Anhui Medical University, Anhui, China.|Anhui Provincial Nursing International Research Center, Anhui, China.
authors: Weili
authors: W
authors: Wang
authors: Alice Centre for Nursing Studies, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
authors: Wenru
authors: W
authors: Wang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002681:China; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D009732:Nursing Care / Q000592:standards*; D010465:Perception; D019555:Physician-Nurse Relations; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012944:Social Support
keywords: cancer; identified need; nursing support; patient experience; qualitative study