Oncologists, oncology nurses and oncology social workers experiences with suicide: impact on patient care

Abstract

Objective

To explore how oncology healthcare workers’ (HCPs) personal experiences with suicide impacts their practice with cancer patients.

Design

The study was designed using Grounded Theory strategies in data collection and analysis.

Participants

Eighteen social workers, 23 oncologists, and 20 nurses, participated in the research.

Methods

Themes emerged from systematic line-by-line coding of the interview transcripts.

Findings

HCPs reported that personal experiences with suicide: impacted the way they communicated with patients about suicide; made them vigilant about signs of suicidality; and made them aware of specific indicators of this distress.

Conclusions

HCPs drew a direct line between their experiences with suicide to the ways in which they care for their patients.

Implications

Increasing HCP awareness of these issues alongside training using evidence-based guidelines for identifying and responding to suicide risk in patients will ensure providing the best quality of care for patients.

Keywords:

• nurses
• oncologists
• oncology
• qualitative research
• social workers
• suicide

Disclosure statement

None of the authors have any conflicts of interests to declare.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention [pilot grant awarded to Granek]