Volume 29, Issue 2 (Summer 2023)                   IJPCP 2023, 29(2): 202-215 | Back to browse issues page


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Aghaei M H, Azami Aghdash S, Ebrahimoghli R, Bodaghi S. Healthcare Providers’ Experiences of Psychological Support for People With Cancer in Ardabil, Iran; Acontent Analysis Study. IJPCP 2023; 29 (2) :202-215
URL: http://ijpcp.iums.ac.ir/article-1-3899-en.html
1- Department of Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran.
2- Department of Health Policy and Management, Faculty of Management, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
3- Department of Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran. , r.ebrahimoghlu@gmail.com
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Introduction
Cancer is a common disease that has caused the health system to face challenges in controlling it. Patients with cancer are exposed to psychological disorders from the time of diagnosis until the end of their life. Psychological support is one of the basic aspects of care for these patients and needs to examine its dimensions and characteristics to help patients with cancer systematically deal with sudden or gradual changes in daily life and also help nurses have a specific framework for patient care. Patients’ care needs are influenced by cultural and social factors and contextual conditions, which can lead to the formation of different care programs. This study aims to investigate healthcare providers’ perceptions of psychological support in providing care to cancer patients. 

Methods
This is a qualitative study that was conducted in 2021. Nineteen healthcare providers were purposefully selected for the study to explore their experiences about psychological support in providing care for cancer patients using an interview that lasted for 45-75 minutes. At the beginning of the interview, the study objective was explained to them. After recording their demographic information, the main open-ended questions were asked. Then, according to their answers, exploratory questions were asked to collect more information. All the interviews were recorded with the permission of the participants by a digital recorder. The recorded information was transcribed and read. Then, the analysis was carried out based on Graneheim and Lundman’s content analysis method. Guba and Lincoln’s criteria were used to determine the validity and strength of the research. 

Results
Based on the content analysis results, four main themes including “highlighting positive mental connection with oneself and others”, “positive awareness”, “positive change in the patient’s point of view”, and “ strengthening the perceived value” were extracted:
Highlighting positive mental connection with oneself and others: Patients have positive abilities and capacities. The healthcare providers give them psychological support by emphasizing and reminding these aspects such as the positive presence of family members and others.
Positive awareness: According to the participants, awareness paves the patient’s way of dealing with the situations which is one of the main features of psychological support. This awareness is made by healthcare providers in a positive way regarding the symptoms and complications of the disease, current situation, and self-care methods.
Positive change in the patient’s point of view: Healthcare providers try to change the patients’ perceptions in a positive way so that the patient, by correcting his/her views, reach a proper understanding of the reality and accept the current situation sooner.
Strengthening the perceived value: This concept indicates the healthcare providers’ special attention to the patient’s values. They emphasize the opinions and spiritual beliefs of the patients and provide care to them with dignity.
These categories reflect the healthcare providers’ effort in “strengthening the positive mindsets” in the patient and shows the formation of psychological support in caring for patients with cancer. These patients suffer from various disorders, which psychologically put them in an exhausting path. During patient care, the patient tries to distance himself from this path. For this purpose, strengthening the patient’s positive mindset puts him in a path of good feelings towards the surrounding events.

Conclusion 
The findings of the present study showed that the basis of psychological support for cancer patients is strengthening of their positive mindsets. This can be helpful for the development of future educational and training programs for the management of cancer. Strengthening of a positive mentality in the patients with cancer should be considered by healthcare providers to meet the psychological needs of patients and provide effective psychological support. In addition, by creating an environment in clinical settings for psychological support, it is possible to direct the necessary educational and administrative programs related to strengthening the positive mentality in patients with cancer.  

Ethical Considerations
Compliance with ethical guidelines

This study was approved by the ethics committee of Ardabil University of Medical Sciences (Code: IR.ARUMS.REC.1400.308). A written informed consent was obtained from all participants after explaining the study objectives and methods to them. They were assured of the confidentiality of their information and were free to leave the study at any time.

Funding
This article is extracted from a research project approved in Ardabil University of Medical Sciences.

Authors contributions
Conceptualization: Mir Hossein Aghaei and Saber Azami Aghdash; Methodology, Investigation: Mir Hossein Aghaei, Reza Ebrahimoghli and Somayeh Bodaghi; Writing-Review & Editing: all authors.

Conflicts of interest
The authors declared no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgments
The authors would like to express their gratitude to the Deputy for Research and Technology of Ardabil University of Medical Sciences and all participants for their support and cooperation in this study.


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Type of Study: Original Research | Subject: Psychiatry and Psychology
Received: 2023/05/28 | Accepted: 2023/06/12 | Published: 2023/07/1

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