[The hospitalized terminal cancer patient and privacy: patient needs and the perception on the part of the professional nurse].

The perception of privacy in a sample of 43 oncology patients admitted to cremona Hospital was evaluated with an ad hoc questionnaire administered by nursing students. The same questionnaire was completed by the nurse responsible for the patient and results were thereafter compared. The questionnaire, of 13 items, explored 4 domains of privacy: environment, physical care, communication with relatives, communication with care providers. Patients and nurses were asked to score each question from 0 (not important) to 3 (very important). Situations which involved modesty-physical care and communication-socialization were perceived as most important for privacy. Areas perceived very important for privacy by the patient received a very high score from the nurses as well.