Compassion, a nice choice for patients with cancer at the end of life: A qualitative case study

ContextCompassion has been identified as the heart of quality people-centered health services and a fundamental ethic in health-care settings.ObjectivesTo explain the importance of compassion in care for patients with cancer at the end of life.MethodsIn this study, a qualitative case study approach was used which is a part of a larger qualitative study about care of patients with cancer at the end-of-life. Participants were chosen by purpose-based sampling, also 37 individuals agreed to participate. Participants included patients, family member caregivers, nurses, oncologists, social workers, chaplains, and psychologists. Semi-structured interviews using a topic guide were conducted. Besides interviews with the participants, observations and survey data were also made. The data were analyzed through the qualitative content analysis technique.ResultsIn this qualitative case study, in total, 37 Iranian participants were interviewed. Two categories were emerged that included: 1) cognitive, emotional and communicational compassion (hospital to home) and 2) pragmatic compassion (hospital to home), and with main categories: holistic compassion (from hospital to home) which was extracted as the main categories.ConclusionThe concept of compassion is of major importance. The findings have provided a better understanding of the end of life care in patients with cancer to improve the quality of life for these patients. Healthcare providers are recommended to familiarize themselves with the compassion skills.

کلیدواژه ها:

Compassion ، Cancer ، Care ، End of Life