Understanding daily life experiences of patients admitted to hospital with recurrent breast cancer.

The grounded theory method was used for this study.

Consistent comparative analysis was used throughout the study to obtain the results. Results showed that inpatients with recurrent breast cancer experience 'a co-existence of life suffering and fear of death'. The causal condition of this result was determined to be 'patient's response to cancer recurrence (acceptance/despair)', including contextual conditions such as, 'previous experience with cancer treatment', 'patient's current physical condition', and 'treatment methods for recurrent cancer'. Intervening conditions, such as 'a strong will to live', 'family support', 'moral support providers', and action/interaction strategies were found to provide patients with 'a strength to live'. Shown in these results, inpatients with recurrent breast cancer were seen to have a simultaneous 'hope for life and fear of death'.

When providing nursing services to inpatients with recurrent breast cancer, people must recognize there is a notable difference between individual patients' contextual conditions and interactive strategies. Henceforth, proper cognitive nursing must be provided which encourages patients to maintain a strong will to overcome the many hardships of treatment as well as physical nursing, such as management of side effects caused by chemotherapy.

The purpose of the study was to meta-analyze the relationships of major concepts, which were made by synthesizing similar explanatory variables into more comprehensive concepts, to hope.

The relevant researches from Jan 1980 to Dec 2003, performed in adults or adult patients, were collected. Using the SAS program, meta-analysis were done with the input data of the number of subjects, the correlation coefficients provided from most of the studies or a few transformed correlation coefficients from F value. In order to get the analysis to be done in homogeneous status of the data regarding each relationship of each major concept to hope(p>0.05), heterogeneous data were eliminated in repeating Q-test.

The major variable regarding relationship to self/transcendental being/life(spiritual wellbeing & self esteem) and social support(social support & family support) have very large positive effects on hope(D̅=1.72, D̅=1.27). The negative effect of the variable regarding captive state(uncertainty in illness, perceived unhealthiness status, & fatigue) and positive effect of coping(approach coping) on hope are in the level between moderate to large(D̅=-0.61,D̅=0.78). All the effects of the major concepts on hope were verified as significant statistically(p=.000). The Fail -Safe numbers showed the significant effects of the three major concepts except coping on hope were reliable.

The results can be a guide to advance hope theory for nursing.