Understanding nurses’ emotions during cancer patient care.

Abstract

The nurse who works with cancer patients must be prepared to support them and their families. This qualitative exploratory and descriptive study aimed at understanding the emotional burden of nurses who provide care to cancer patients. The sample included ten female nurses, who answered a semi-structured interview. Data were submitted to content analysis. The results evidenced four categories: denial of the disease, anxiety, difficulty to get involved and to deal with the emotions, and need of psychological support by the nurses. It was concluded that nurses found it difficult to deal with the emotions that emerge when caring for cancer patients. Therefore, programs to promote self-knowledge and support groups need to be developed to aid nurses who provide care to cancer patients.