An article authored by researchers at the University of Navarra analyzes the keys to the nurse-patient relationship in the treatment of advanced, terminal cancer. The study, published in ‘Nursing Outlook,' the official journal of the American Academy of Nursing and the Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science, includes perspectives from seven countries (Canada, the United States, Australia, China, Sweden, Norway and Iran) that describe the experiences of 54 nurses and 63 patients.

The article highlights four main themes of the nurse-patient relationship. First, the nurse must be there for and support patients with advanced or terminal cancer. Second, it takes time to establish the proper relationship. If patients perceive that a nurse does not have time, a close relationship will not develop.

Third, nurses can promote respect and care. Perceiving that a nurse exceeds his or her obligations limits or develops a therapeutic relationship.

A relationship centered on patients as people

Finally, the researchers note that this relationship increases wellbeing when the nurse listens and does not judge the patient, who thus feels safe and understood. Nurses note that listening decreases patients' anxiety and pain. The nurse-patient relationship can encourage patients to continue living, increasing their inner strength and helping them to find meaning and peace.

In conclusion, the article advocates for relationship-centered care and for support focused on patients as people.

Mary Arantzamendi, a research fellow within the ATLANTES Program of the Institute for Culture and Society (ICS), and Mercedes Perez, Dean of the School of Nursing at the University of Navarra, co-directed this research. The following researchers also participated: Begoña Errasti Ibarrondo, of the School of Nursing, José Miguel Carrasco, of the ICS ATLANTES Program, Marcos Lama, head of the Palliative Care Unit at the Hospital San Juan de Dios in Pamplona and Amparo Zaragoza, of the School of Nursing.

This research forms part of a project (PI13/02039) funded by the Health Research Fund and by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Bibliographic reference: Errasti-Ibarrondo B, Pérez M, Carrasco JM, Lama M, Zaragoza A, Arantzamendi M. Essential elements of the relationship between the nurse and the person with advanced and terminal cancer: A meta-ethnography. Nurs Outlook. 2015 May-Jun;63(3):255-68. doi: 10.1016/j.outlook.2014.12.001. Epub 2014 Dec 8.

Click here to read the full article:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25982766