A time to weep and a time to laugh: humour in the nurse–patient relationship in an adult cancer setting (original) (raw)
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A narrative inquiry: How do nurses respond to patients' use of humour?
In today’s healthcare system where technical instruments and test results are used to implement care it is easy to lose the human aspect of nursing. Personal interaction can get lost and nurses sometimes miss humorous attempts made by patients. Humour is a very personal concept, what one person thinks is funny does not necessarily make another person smile, or might even be hurtful. Humour is an important communication tool for patients as it humanises the nurses, creates a bond and opens communication lines. Humour has the potential to change the hospital experience for patients. The aim of this paper is to highlight the importance of humour in the therapeutic relationship between patient and nurse. Semi-structured interviews were held with four registered nurses and narrative inquiry was used to analyse and present the findings because of its ability to capture human interaction and experience.
The Importance of Humour in Oncology: A Survey of Patients Undergoing Radiotherapy
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Background: Humour has long been considered an important coping tool for patients with cancer, but published quantitative data about its significance are limited. The purpose of our study was to survey patients with cancer undergoing radiotherapy regarding their opinions about the use of humour in their care. Methods: An anonymous 35-item questionnaire evaluating the patient experience, including the value of humour, was developed by an interdisciplinary team of health care providers (HCPS) working within the Radiation Medicine program. This anonymous, voluntary, paper-based survey for self-completion required approximately 10 minutes to finish and was administered during the fall of 2018 and the spring of 2019. Results: For the 199 patients who completed the survey [108 women, 89 men (2 respondents did not specify)], median age was 68 years. That group represents approximately 30%–35% of the patients on treatment during the study period. Almost all respondents (86%) indicated that,...
Humor intervention in the nurse-patient interaction
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Objective: To describe the factors influencing the use of humor in nursing care, its applicability and benefits. Method: A scoping review was performed using the Arksey and O’Mally methodology. A search for articles published between 2008 and 2018 was performed using the platforms EBSCO Host, Virtual Health Library and Google Scholar. Results: From the initial 465 articles found, 17 were included for final revision. Data allowed to retrieve information on humor definition; its applicability as a nursing intervention; humor as a tool to improve nurse-patient communication and relationship; influence factors; type of humor interventions; humor benefits in health care context and; limitations and precautions of humor intervention. Conclusion: The use of humor promotes both communication and human interaction; it promotes well-being; helps deal/cope with difficult and unpleasant situations, reduces tension, discomfort and stress; and strengthens the immune system. This intervention shou...
Masculinities, humour and care for penile cancer: a qualitative study
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Aim: To explore how men with penile cancer construct humour in relation to their diagnosis and treatment. Background: Functionalist, relief and incongruity theories attempt to account for humour but there is a dearth of empirical evidence in nursing care. This is particularly so in relation to a condition like penile cancer where some nurses think that humour in their interactions with patients would be inappropriate. Design: The study employed a participative, mixed-qualitative-methods design. Method: Focus groups and patient-conducted interviews were both used during a one-day 'pilot workshop' in March 2011. The data were initially analysed using framework analysis. This paper explores the theme of humour in depth. Findings: Humour helped participants make light of their condition, which meant that they could laugh about the consequences of treatment ('laughing about urination') and build rapport with health professionals ('humour with health professionals'). Nevertheless, the use of humour was less important than the treatment of their cancer ('humour discounted') and there was a fear that they would be subject to ridicule because of their condition ('fear of ridicule'). Conclusion: The findings suggest a combination of functionalist, relief and incongruity theories of humour; the emotions these men experience are contained (functionalist) and released (relief) through humorous interaction, and the potential for comedy lies in an incongruity between what is expected socially and the experiences of these men, for example around expectations that men use urinals in public toilets. Nurses should continue to use humour to build rapport with patients, should they judge this to be appropriate although they may want to avoid jokes about sexual and urinary functioning until after treatment.
Göbeklitepe sağlık bilimleri dergisi, 2023
This study aims to determine perceived stress levels and coping with humor in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. This descriptive study was conducted in a single center in Turkey and involved a total of 135 patients who had been diagnosed with cancer. The patients receiving chemotherapy had high levels of perceived stress and their use of humor as a coping strategy in stressful situations was below average. The perceived stress scale score was statistically significantly associated with age, employment status, presence of chronic disease, frequency of chemotherapy sessions and receipt of radiotherapy (p <0.05). The coping humor scale score was statistically significantly associated with age, education, economic status, previous hospitalization and time since diagnosis (p <0.05). Increasing the awareness of patients about humor and the use of humor starting from the time of cancer diagnosis can positively affect treatment and follow-up.
ASTUDILLO THE THERAPEUTIC EFFECT OF GOOD HUMOUR IN PALLIATIVE CARE
Facing a serious issue with humour does not necessarily mean "lightly", such that humour can be used as a therapeutic tool and to treat the stress of individuals facing such circumstances. The holistic care requested by the WHO for terminal patients includes, where possible and indicated, the courteous and spontaneous use of a sense of humour, because the end of life is also a useful time to share moments of laughter and fun as another way of improving the quality of life of such patients and their families. Laughter and humour can stimulate a positive and hopeful attitude and provide new perspectives to people's problems. However, their use requires carers who are highly sensitive to the perception of when they are necessary or when they might be inappropriate. Here we review the possibilities of laughter and humour as coadjuvants to improve the wellbeing of patients and some guidelines for their use in terminal patients through a study of the two films, Patch Adams and Planta 4 a , both of which address different but important aspects of palliative care.