A qualitative study to explore the concept of fatigue tiredness in cancer patients and in healthy individuals
A qualitative study to explore the concept of fatigue tiredness in cancer patients and in healthy individuals
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DOI：
10.1007/bf01845757
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发表时间：
1996-03-01
影响因子：
3.1
通讯作者：
Hammond, S
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Glaus, A;Crow, R;Hammond, S
自从发现疲劳/疲倦是癌症及其治疗最常见的症状以来，对疲劳研究的兴趣不断增长。但是，尽管有几位作者试图将疲劳概念化，其机制仍然知之甚少。本研究的目的是双重的：（a）探索癌症患者的疲劳归纳，和（B）比较健康人与癌症患者的疲劳/疲倦的经验，以确定癌症特异性疲劳/疲倦和相关概念。本研究采质性研究策略，以建构理论为研究方法。这项前瞻性研究在瑞士圣加仑Kantonsspital的肿瘤科进行，样本包括20名癌症患者和20名健康人。为了收集数据，进行了非结构化的录音访谈。对访谈记录进行了内容分析和不断比较。不同的主题出现在两组之间，虽然都适合一个分类系统，将疲劳分为身体，情感和认知疲劳/疲劳的表达。在两组中，身体体征比情感和认知体征更常见。在癌症患者中，疲劳涉及身体表现下降，极端，不寻常的疲劳，虚弱和不寻常的休息需求，这与健康人明显不同。情感和认知困扰在癌症患者中也更为突出。有趣的是，这两个样本都没有识别出不适的概念，也没有被德语人群理解为疲劳的表达。语言差异的描述疲劳/疲劳之间的健康和生病的人揭示了不同的看法的现象。尝试性地提出了一个解释疲劳产生的阶梯理论，涉及到伤害性感受、疲劳的知觉和疲劳的表达。新兴的概念将疲劳/疲劳分解为身体、情感和认知疲劳/疲劳的表现。健康个体和癌症患者之间的经验是不同的，在得出一般性结论时必须小心，但研究结果确定并澄清了可能形成进一步对照研究的重要基础的想法。
Interest in fatigue research has grown since the finding that fatigue/tiredness is the most frequently reported symptom of cancer and its treatment. But even though several authors have tried to conceptualise fatigue, its mechanisms are still poorly understood. The aim of this study was twofold: (a) to explore fatigue in cancer patients inductively, and (b) to compare experiences of fatigue/tiredness of healthy individuals with those of cancer patients to identify cancer-specific fatigue/tiredness and related concepts. A qualitative research strategy was adopted using a grounded-theory approach. The prospective study took place in the oncology department of the Kantonsspital, St. Gallen, Switzerland, with samples of 20 cancer patients and 20 healthy individuals. Unstructured, tape-recorded interviews were conducted to collect data. The transcripts of the interviews were analysed using content analysis and constant comparison. Different themes emerged between the two groups although both fitted a classification system that categorised fatigue into physical, affective and cognitive expressions of fatigue/tiredness. Physical signs were more frequent than affective and cognitive signs in both groups, In the cancer patients, fatigue involved decreased physical performance, extreme, unusual tiredness, weakness and an unusual need for rest, which was distinctly different for healthy persons. Affective and cognitive distress was also more prominent in cancer patients. Interestingly, the concept of malaise was not identified by either sample and not understood as an expression of fatigue by this German-speaking population. Linguistic differences in the description of fatigue/tiredness between healthy and ill individuals revealed different perceptions of the phenomenon. A step-like theory, explaining the production of fatigue/tiredness was tentatively put forward involving nociception, perception and expression of tiredness. The emerging concepts break tiredness/fatigue into an expression of physical, affective and cognitive tiredness/fatigue. The experience is different between healthy individuals and cancer patients, Care must be taken when drawing generalised conclusions but the results of the study identify and clarify ideas that might form an important basis for further, controlled studies.