Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of the West of England, Hartpury, Gloucester, UK.
Eur J Cancer Care (Engl). 2011 Jul;20(4):539-48. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2354.2011.01244.x. Epub 2011 Mar 28.
There is an international literature which claims that there is a link between chemotherapeutic agents and cognitive impairment. Deficits in concentration and memory can have a major impact on decision making about education and careers, and on general quality of life. The literature to date is generally anecdotal, or reports on quantitative research that does not address patients' interpretations of impaired cognition. It was the intention of this study to capture experiences and perceptions of cognitive impairment as told by people receiving chemotherapy. A descriptive phenomenological approach was employed and four participants were interviewed twice. Analysis was conducted using Nvivo software alongside Hycner's analysis framework so that researchers could produce narratives to represent experiences for each case. The description for each case illuminates uniqueness and commonality. 'Chemobrain' is a significant and important issue for many patients but they are often unaware, prior to chemotherapy, that cognition may be affected. There is no shared understanding between patients and healthcare professionals and there is a lack of information about the phenomena which disempower patients. Healthcare professionals should develop knowledge and skills to recognise and address chemotherapy-induced cognitive impairment.
有国际文献声称，化疗药物与认知障碍之间存在关联。注意力和记忆力的缺陷会对教育和职业选择以及整体生活质量产生重大影响。迄今为止，该文献通常是轶事证据，或者是关于无法解决患者对认知障碍的解释的定量研究的报告。本研究旨在通过接受化疗的人讲述的方式来了解认知障碍的经历和看法。采用描述性现象学方法，对 4 名参与者进行了两次访谈。使用 Nvivo 软件和 Hycner 的分析框架进行分析，以便研究人员可以为每个案例制作代表经验的叙述。每个案例的描述都说明了独特性和共性。“化疗脑”是许多患者的一个重要问题，但他们在接受化疗之前往往不知道认知可能会受到影响。患者和医疗保健专业人员之间没有共同的理解，也缺乏有关使患者失去权力的现象的信息。医疗保健专业人员应培养识别和解决化疗引起的认知障碍的知识和技能。
