Living in Rural Areas and Receiving Cancer Treatment Away From Home : A Qualitative Study Foregrounding Temporality

Funding Information: The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This study was supported by funding received by HE from the Icelandic Nurses’ Association and the Icelandic Regional Development Institute. Publishe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Global Qualitative Nursing Research
Main Authors: Egilsdóttir, Halldóra, Jónsdóttir, Helga, Klinke, Marianne Elisabeth
Other Authors: Office of Division of Clinical Services I, Health Sciences, Landspitali - The National University Hospital of Iceland
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2022
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11815/3494
https://doi.org/10.1177/23333936221111802
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Summary:Funding Information: The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This study was supported by funding received by HE from the Icelandic Nurses’ Association and the Icelandic Regional Development Institute. Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2022. We used explorative interviews to gauge (inter)personal, physiological, and emotional challenges of seven rural cancer patients who traveled long distances to cancer treatment centers. After a thematic analysis, we foregrounded experiences of temporality by using a phenomenologically inspired approach. The analysis resulted in three themes: (a) An epiphany of “what really matters in life”—time gains new meaning, (b) Feeling out of sync with others and own body—striving for coherence and simultaneity, and (c) Being torn between benefits of home and treatments site—time and distance as a tangible aspect of traveling and being away. Under these themes, 13 meaning units were generated, which reflected changes in temporality. During treatment, life primarily revolved around repeating circles of travel arrangements, staying on top of treatment schedule, and synchronizing a home life with a life away from home. Nurses should provide comprehensive care to enhance stability in cancer patients’ temporal experiences. Peer reviewed