The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Fatigue in adolescents with and following a cancer diagnosis: developing an evidence base for practice.

Fatigue in adolescents with and following a cancer diagnosis: developing an evidence base for practice.
Fatigue in adolescents with and following a cancer diagnosis: developing an evidence base for practice.
Although fatigue has been a focus for research in adult cancer care for some time, the same cannot be said for adolescent oncology practice. This paper summarises the literature concerning fatigue in adolescents with, and following, cancer diagnoses, drawing on data from four empirical studies. Fatigue is multidimensional, multifactorial and highly subjective, but can be managed to enhance self-caring and coping strategies. All of the studies reviewed within indicate that fatigue is a troublesome symptom, which impacts on quality of life. From this review, we set up a research study. This paper provides a brief report of preliminary data from this study drawn from a group of adolescents in late remission from childhood cancer. These data are used to evaluate the utility of focus groups as a method of data collection in exploring the concept of fatigue in adolescents. Concurring with the studies we reviewed, findings from the preliminary data suggest that fatigue is a highly subjective and ‘abnormal’ phenomenon that holds a variety of implied meanings and associated metaphors connected with past experiences of childhood cancer. The focus group proved to be a viable research method to facilitate mutual disclosure and provoke discussion. Recognition of the research challenges with adolescents, where there is the potential for a range of meanings for the experience of fatigue, is an important finding for future studies.
fatigue, cancer, adolescents, focus group, case study
0959-8049
2671-2680
Edwards, J.L.
e5594d00-fbfb-466b-b4cf-4e734f47c8bb
Gibson, F.
ad14c963-1d85-4851-8c54-d18525843390
Richardson, A.
a5adbf25-d0c1-4169-9a96-6186d1bbef5a
Sepion, B.
eb56272e-3f05-4cb4-97a7-d662879b55c4
Ream, E.
8f79582d-e1c0-4cc9-ae71-14b543567d63
Edwards, J.L.
e5594d00-fbfb-466b-b4cf-4e734f47c8bb
Gibson, F.
ad14c963-1d85-4851-8c54-d18525843390
Richardson, A.
a5adbf25-d0c1-4169-9a96-6186d1bbef5a
Sepion, B.
eb56272e-3f05-4cb4-97a7-d662879b55c4
Ream, E.
8f79582d-e1c0-4cc9-ae71-14b543567d63

Edwards, J.L., Gibson, F., Richardson, A., Sepion, B. and Ream, E. (2003) Fatigue in adolescents with and following a cancer diagnosis: developing an evidence base for practice. European Journal of Cancer, 39 (18), 2671-2680. (doi:10.1016/j.ejca.2003.09.007).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Although fatigue has been a focus for research in adult cancer care for some time, the same cannot be said for adolescent oncology practice. This paper summarises the literature concerning fatigue in adolescents with, and following, cancer diagnoses, drawing on data from four empirical studies. Fatigue is multidimensional, multifactorial and highly subjective, but can be managed to enhance self-caring and coping strategies. All of the studies reviewed within indicate that fatigue is a troublesome symptom, which impacts on quality of life. From this review, we set up a research study. This paper provides a brief report of preliminary data from this study drawn from a group of adolescents in late remission from childhood cancer. These data are used to evaluate the utility of focus groups as a method of data collection in exploring the concept of fatigue in adolescents. Concurring with the studies we reviewed, findings from the preliminary data suggest that fatigue is a highly subjective and ‘abnormal’ phenomenon that holds a variety of implied meanings and associated metaphors connected with past experiences of childhood cancer. The focus group proved to be a viable research method to facilitate mutual disclosure and provoke discussion. Recognition of the research challenges with adolescents, where there is the potential for a range of meanings for the experience of fatigue, is an important finding for future studies.

This record has no associated files available for download.

More information

Published date: December 2003
Keywords: fatigue, cancer, adolescents, focus group, case study
Organisations: Health Sciences

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 69102
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/69102
ISSN: 0959-8049
PURE UUID: 33fad4ed-f0f7-45fc-8e4f-097487c1dd11

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 05 Nov 2009
Last modified: 13 Mar 2024 19:21

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: J.L. Edwards
Author: F. Gibson
Author: A. Richardson
Author: B. Sepion
Author: E. Ream

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×