Care for Cancer Patients and Communication Problems
Evidence Table
A1 Quantitative Article:
Canivet, D., Delvaux, N., Gibon, A., Brancart, C., Slachmuylder, J., & Razavi, D. (2014). Improving communication in cancer pain management nursing: a randomized controlled study assessing the efficacy of a communication skills training program. Supportive Care In Cancer, 22(12), 3311-3320. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00520-014-2357-2
Background or Introduction
The article by Cavinet et al. (2014) has a well-developed abstract, which allows for understanding of the main aspects of research before reading the article. The abstract is divided into parts corresponding to the main sections, which is convenient for the reader. The title of the article reflects the performed research, as well as provides insight on positive outcomes of training program implementation. Therefore, these components of the article were perfectly developed. The introduction section is combined with literature review. However, the authors still provided all necessary background information to facilitate reader’s understanding of the purpose of the study and its importance. Cancer is one of the most common causes of death worldwide, which leads to fatal outcome in almost 50% of cases even in developed countries with high level of medicine (Siegel, Miller, & Jemal, 2015). Pain is among the most common complications experienced by such patients, and it significantly reduces their quality of life (Cavinet et al., 2014). However, pain assessment and management is not properly performed by healthcare workers today, although they are educated enough about this problem (Cavinet et al., 2014). The authors suggested that implementation of communication training programs could improve the situation. The purpose of the study, which consisted of investigation of the effect of general communication skills training on pain management assessment in cancer patients, was stated in the end of the introduction. At the same time, there was a properly developed hypothesis, which suggested positive outcome of such training program in terms of assessment of pain and patient’s psychological state, as well as communication about the prescribed medication (Cavinet et al., 2014). Therefore, this section of the article was perfectly developed.
Review of Literature
Although review of literature was combined with the introduction section and was relatively short, it incorporated all the necessary information regarding the problem addressed by the authors. They stated the main barriers to optimal pain control, discussed the effect of communication with healthcare professional on analgesics intake by the patient, and focused on patient-oriented approach in modern medicine. Then, the authors reported lack of specific communication skills programs related to pain management and suggested that general training could be used instead (Cavinet et al., 2014). Thus, the literature review was properly organized and comprehensive. In total, 30 works by other authors were cited in the review, and most of them were primary research articles. However, many references were older than 10 years, which implies that the topic is not of current interest (2014). Alternatively, some effective resolution of the problem could have been suggested before.
Discussion of Methodology
In order to address their purpose and hypothesis, the authors conducted …
