2019 Volume 23 Issue 1 Pages 74-82
To clarify the significance of utilizing visiting nursing for elderly cancer patients undergoing outpatient chemotherapy, individual semi-structured interviews were held with 13 outpatient nurses and 10 visiting nurses. Qualitative content analysis was then carried out on the verbatim records. The significance of utilizing visiting nursing for elderly cancer patients was found to be as follows. In the period up to the first outpatient chemotherapy treatment, the significance was “the ability to create a framework for receiving support not only at the hospital, but also in the community.” In the period of continued outpatient chemotherapy, it included “the ability of the patient to receive advice at home on coping behaviors andpreventing his/her condition from worsening, thereby facilitating continuation of treatment and day-to-day living,” and “the ability of family to receive support enabling continuation of day-to-day living while coping with difficulties.” In the period when continuation of outpatient chemotherapy becomes difficult, the significance included “the ability of the patient to prepare for spending his/her end of life in the manner he/she decided on,” and “the ability to receive support for family caring for the patient.” The utilization of visiting nursing by elderly cancer patients enables the patients themselves to decide on treatment and place of recuperation, and contributes to grief care for families.
