Boamah Mensah Adwoa Bemah, Adamu Bakinam, Mensah Kofi Boamah, Dzomeku Veronica Millicent, Agbadi Pascal, Kusi Grace, Apiribu Felix
Department of Nursing, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
Nursing Training College-Techiman Krobo, Techiman, Ghana.
Support Care Cancer. 2021 May;29(5):2335-2345. doi: 10.1007/s00520-020-05716-2. Epub 2020 Sep 11.
We aimed to explore the experiences of husbands of women diagnosed with advanced breast cancer, highlighting their stressors and the resources they rely on to cope, in Kumasi, Ghana.
An exploratory descriptive qualitative research design was adopted. Fifteen in-depth interviews with participants were conducted. After a participant's written consent, we audio-recorded the interview sessions and transcribed them verbatim. We managed and analysed the data manually.
The experiences of husbands as primary caregivers of their wives diagnosed with advanced breast cancer have been broadly categorized under two main themes: stressors and resources. The analyses revealed that the burdens associated with the husband's primary caregiving roles threatened the marriage, their relationships with others, work, and finances. Regardless of the stressors, participants drew on a range of resources such as acceptance, marital obligation and commitment to marital vows, social support, and spirituality to cope.
The study is the first of our knowledge to explore the experiences of husbands acting as primary caregivers of their wives who are diagnosed with advanced breast cancer in Ghana. It revealed that they rely on specific resources to cope with the burdens associated with their role. Policies and programs aiming at assisting women diagnosed with advanced breast cancer to manage and cope with the disease should include the partners of the married ones by designing programs that help the husbands to understand the situation and adequately provide the care that promotes the quality of life of the husband, wife, and the family.
我们旨在探究在加纳库马西，被诊断患有晚期乳腺癌的女性的丈夫们的经历，着重强调他们面临的压力源以及他们赖以应对的资源。
采用探索性描述性定性研究设计。对参与者进行了15次深入访谈。在获得参与者的书面同意后，我们对访谈进行了录音并逐字转录。我们手动管理和分析数据。
丈夫们作为被诊断患有晚期乳腺癌的妻子的主要照顾者的经历大致可归为两个主要主题：压力源和资源。分析表明，与丈夫的主要照顾角色相关的负担对婚姻、他们与他人的关系、工作和财务构成了威胁。尽管存在压力源，但参与者利用了一系列资源来应对，如接纳、婚姻义务和对婚姻誓言的承诺、社会支持以及精神寄托。
据我们所知，该研究首次探究了在加纳，作为被诊断患有晚期乳腺癌的妻子的主要照顾者的丈夫们的经历。研究表明，他们依靠特定资源来应对与其角色相关的负担。旨在帮助被诊断患有晚期乳腺癌的女性管理和应对疾病的政策和项目应将已婚女性的伴侣纳入其中，设计相关项目帮助丈夫们了解情况，并充分提供有助于提高丈夫、妻子和家庭生活质量的护理。
