Walsh Casey A, Currin-McCulloch Jennifer, Faris Nicholas R, Nguyen Thu Suong Thi, Al Achkar Morhaf
Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA, USA.
School of Social Work, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
Palliat Support Care. 2024 Feb 29:1-6. doi: 10.1017/S147895152400004X.
With targeted therapies, people are surviving longer with advanced lung cancer and engaging in online lung cancer support communities. While these groups provide a sense of community, witnessing the death of peers can lead to emotional distress. This qualitative study aims to (1) explore the experience of witnessing death in online cancer support groups; (2) identify factors that contribute to the emotional struggles of witnessing the death of peers; and (3) identify strategies/options for dealing with losses in the cancer community.
We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of qualitative interviews exploring existential concerns with participants ( = 25) from oncogene-specific online lung cancer support groups. The principal investigator conducted study interviews between August 2018 and March 2019 where participants were asked about their cancer experiences and existential concerns. We used thematic analysis and NVIVO 11 software to examine and store the de-identified interview data.
Participants indicated that they had often witnessed their peers die and felt the pain of the loss. Factors that played a part in their struggle with witnessing others' death included the closeness of the relationship with the person, the age of the person who died, seeing oneself in the experience of the other dying, disparities in care, and losing touch in the final stages. Participants used varied coping strategies such as celebrating the life of the individual who died, engaging in advocacy efforts, not focusing on the loss, participating in therapy, and bringing self-preserving thoughts.
Our study highlights the importance of addressing existential fears in online lung cancer support groups and incorporating conversations about death in spaces that deal with cancer.
随着靶向治疗的应用，晚期肺癌患者的生存期延长，且他们会参与在线肺癌支持社区。虽然这些群体提供了一种社区感，但目睹同伴的死亡可能会导致情绪困扰。这项定性研究旨在：（1）探索在在线癌症支持小组中目睹死亡的经历；（2）确定导致目睹同伴死亡时情绪挣扎的因素；（3）确定在癌症社区应对损失的策略/选择。
我们对来自特定癌基因在线肺癌支持小组的25名参与者进行了定性访谈的横断面分析，探讨存在性问题。首席研究员在2018年8月至2019年3月期间进行了研究访谈，询问参与者他们的癌症经历和存在性问题。我们使用主题分析和NVIVO 11软件来检查和存储去识别化的访谈数据。
参与者表示他们经常目睹同伴死亡并感受到失去的痛苦。在他们与目睹他人死亡的挣扎中起作用的因素包括与死者关系的亲密程度、死者的年龄、在他人死亡经历中看到自己、护理差异以及在最后阶段失去联系。参与者使用了各种应对策略，如颂扬死者的生命、参与宣传活动、不专注于损失、参与治疗以及产生自我保护的想法。
我们的研究强调了在在线肺癌支持小组中解决存在性恐惧以及在处理癌症的空间中纳入关于死亡的对话的重要性。
