2020 Volume 24 Issue 2 Pages 161-170
[Objective] To clarify the status of self-management support and its problems in patients with diabetes and cancer from the perspective of nurses specializing in diabetes.
[Methods] Focus group interviews were conducted with a total of 16 nurses specializing in diabetes, and the results were analyzed qualitatively and inductively.
[Results] Self-management support for blood glucose control was given to patients in accordance with the content and timing of their cancer treatments and the nurses' expertise. However, the nurses experienced difficulties with self-management support, such as problems with finding a time and place to listen to patients diagnosed with cancer, with constructing a relationship with patients, and with the hesitation of rigorous blood glucose control in relation to malignancy. They felt that information-sharing and understanding between the cancer and diabetes fields were lacking. Because the medical treatment for patients with diabetes and cancer was complicated, self-management support required specialized knowledge from both the cancer field and the diabetes field.
[Conclusion] For nurses to cope with the difficulties in supporting the self-management of patients with diabetes and cancer, we need to improve knowledge and awareness and promote cooperation between the cancer and diabetes fields.
