- 期刊
癌症病人死亡焦慮概念分析
The Concept Analysis of Death Anxiety of Cancer Patients
摘要
癌症為全球性健康議題，雖然癌症治癒率不斷提升，但仍讓病人與死亡聯想在一起而引發死亡焦慮，死亡焦慮是經由死亡覺醒而產生的憂慮，影響病人身、心、社會功能，嚴重者會出現自殺行為，是腫瘤醫療人員須重視的健康議題。為瞭解癌症病人的死亡焦慮，本文採用Walker & Avant所提出的方法進行概念分析，歸納出六項概念性特徵：（一）生命受到威脅；身、心即將走向毀壞。（二）負向情緒感受（癌症相關烙印）；模糊不安、消極、分離焦慮及害怕身體受苦等。（三）生命感知的認知結構改變；生活陷入混亂。（四）存在感與生活目標受到威脅。（五）焦慮行為；不斷的檢查身體、尋求再保證與尋求安全行為等。（六）應對心理防禦機制的發展。期望藉由此概念分析，增進護理人員對癌症病人死亡焦慮的認識，並能協助病人找到應對機制，緩解病人因死亡焦慮所產生的情緒、認知與行為等結果，進而提升癌症病人之照護品質。
並列摘要
Cancer is a global healthcare problem. Cancer is now curable through therapy with improvement over time. However, cancer diagnosis continues to be perceived as a serious threat to life and thus causing death anxiety in patients. Death anxiety increases when the patient is aware that the being is confronted with the threats of nonbeing, or death. It could affect the patient’s physical, psychological, and social function. In severe cases, suicide could occur among patients diagnosed with cancer. It is an important issue that oncology nursing staff learn how to deal with the death anxiety. In order to understand the death anxiety of cancer patients, the author conducted a concept analysis with the concept analysis steps outlined by Walker and Avant. The results indicate the following six defining attributes of death anxiety of cancer patient: (1) sensing that life is being threatened (the body and mind are going to be destroyed), (2) feeling negative emotions (cancer-related stigma), (3) experiencing cognitive structural change (life falls into chaos), (4) diminishing sense of existence and purpose of life, (5) exhibiting anxious behavior, and (6) developing a psychological coping mechanism. It is hoped this analysis can provide the nurses with a better understanding of the concept of death anxiety in their cancer patients to help alleviating the emotional, cognitive, and behavioral consequences from the death anxiety, and developing the coping mechanisms for higher quality of care for the cancer patients.