Nurses' Attitudes in Adolescent Oncology Care: Supporting Adolescents While Navigating Emotional Challenges and Fostering Mutual Subjectivity

TL;DR

This study explores how nurses in Japan support adolescents with cancer by understanding their unique needs and managing emotional challenges during care.

Contribution

The study identifies specific nurse attitudes that foster meaningful interactions with adolescent cancer patients in Japan.

Findings

Five key categories of nurse attitudes were identified through thematic analysis of interviews.

Nurses emphasized the importance of being present with adolescents while managing their own emotional challenges.

The study highlights the value of treating adolescents as individuals with their own subjectivity in nursing care.

Abstract

Background: In Japan, nurses often find it particularly difficult to communicate with adolescents with cancer due to limited experience in caring for this age group and their unique needs. Conversely, adolescents with cancer perceive the presence of nurses as meaningful in their interactions and essential in helping them rebuild their identities. This study aimed to describe the attitudes of nurses who cared for adolescents with cancer in their daily practice and encountered challenges during these interactions.

Methods: This qualitative descriptive study employed semi-structured interviews. Verbatim transcripts were created from the recorded data, which were analyzed using a thematic analysis approach.

Results: A questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 nurses who had five or more years of experience in adolescent cancer nursing and worked in wards. The analysis identified five categories of nurses' attitudes: "engaging with adolescents with cancer based on their characteristics," "having expertise as a nurse," "being with adolescents while managing one's own emotional wavering," "caring for adolescents by treating them as a person and valuing their subjectivity," and "experiencing one's own subjectivity."

Conclusion: In adolescent cancer nursing, where nurses tend to experience challenges, it is important to engage with adolescents without rushing to provide answers, to separate oneself from adolescents, and to be present with them while managing emotional wavering. The attitudes of nurses who cared for adolescents with cancer were interpreted as embodying the essence of nursing presence. Further research should incorporate patients' perspectives on nursing presence to help alleviate nurses' sense of difficulty in these interactions.