Caring behaviours in cancer care in Greece. Comparison of patients', their caregivers' and nurses' perceptions.

PURPOSE: Although, within cancer nursing the concept of caring is central, there are limited studies comparing nurses', patients' and caregivers' views of care, especially in non-Anglo-Saxonic cultures. We explored and compared perceptions of caring behaviours by cancer patients, their caregivers, and nurses in Greece, as well as associations with demographic variables.

METHODS

A descriptive correlational study with cross-sectional comparisons was conducted in three cancer hospitals in Attica, with a convenience sample of 138 patients receiving chemotherapy and their family caregivers and 72 nurses. Participants completed the Caring Behaviour Inventory-24 (CBI-24).

RESULTS

All groups perceived "Knowledge and skill" as the most important CBI sub-scale. There were no statistically significant differences between patients' and caregivers' perceptions of care. Overall, nurses rated their caring behaviours lower than patients and caregivers (p < 0.05). There was agreement among the three groups of participants regarding the two most and less common caring behaviours. Patients' educational background and hospitalization history, as well as the presence of a spouse as caregiver exhibited only weak (rho < 0.2) associations with their perceptions of care. As for nurses, the only factor significantly associated with their perceptions of care was marital status (p < 0.02).

CONCLUSIONS

These findings demonstrate important similarities and discrepancies in the way Greek cancer patients, caregivers and their nurses perceive caring behaviours, and they illustrate the mainly technical orientation of cancer nursing care in Greece.