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Long-Term Care Residents with Cancer and their Health Care Providers Reflect on Hope*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 July 2012

Maggie Gibson*
Affiliation:
St. Joseph’s Health Care London
Eunice Gorman
Affiliation:
King’s University College
*
Correspondence and requests for offprints should be sent to / La correspondance et les demandes de tirés-à-part doivent être adressées à: Maggie Gibson, Ph.D., C.Psych. Veterans Care Program St. Joseph’s Health Care London 801 Commissioners Road East London, Ontario N6C 5J1 (maggie.gibson@sjhc.london.on.ca)

Abstract

This study examined hope in long-term care residents with cancer from the perspectives of both residents and health care providers (HCPs). Clinical data established that the prevalence of a cancer diagnosis in the study facility (15%) was similar to other estimates in the literature. Eight experienced HCPs were interviewed. Ten residents with a cancer diagnosis were interviewed, and they completed the Herth Hope Index (HHI). Dimensions of hope and contextual factors that shape hope emerged as themes for both HCPs and residents, but reflected their different perspectives. HCPs identified hope as integral to care. HHI scores were high, indicating residents were generally hopeful. The study findings suggest that for the small but complex subgroup of long-term care (LTC) residents who have a diagnosis of cancer, hope is not lost, but rather it is relevant, nuanced, and possible to attain.

Résumé

Cette étude a examiné l’espoir parmi les résidents avec le cancer en soins de longue durée et a évalué les points de vue des résidents et aussi des prestataires de soins de santé (PSS). Les données cliniques ont établi que la prévalence d’un diagnostic de cancer dans l’établissement d’étude (15%) était semblable à d’autres estimations dans la littérature. On a fait passer une entrevue parmi huit PSS experimentés. Dix résidents avec un diagnostic de cancer ont été interrogés, et ils ont complété l’index d’espoir Herth (IEH). Les dimensions de l’espoir et les facteurs contextuels qui forment l’espoir sont manifestés comme des thèmes, et pour less PSS et pour les résidents, mais reflétaient leurs points de vue différents. En tant que partie intégrante des soins, l’espoir était un thème pour PSS. Les scores d’IEH étaient élevés, ce qui indique que les résidents étaient généralement optimistes. Les résultats de l’étude suggèrent que, pour le sous-groupe petit mais complexe de résidents en soins de longue durée qui a un diagnostic de cancer, l’espoir n’est pas perdu, mais plutôt il est pertinent, nuancé et possible d’atteindre.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 2012

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Footnotes

*

We thank the veterans, family members, health care providers, support personnel, and administrators who facilitated this study.

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