In the Shadows of Patients with Upper Gastrointestinal Cancer: An Interview Study with Next of Kin about Their Experiences Participating in Surgical Cancer Care.
Farzana Ibrahim, Carina Wennerholm, Per Sandström and 3 others
PMID 32646225WHAT IT FOUND
Next of kin after upper gastrointestinal cancer surgery often felt central yet unseen.
Missing verbal information about complications, transfers and discharge caused anxiety; when staff included them directly, they described feeling safer.
Key findings
01Next of kin felt they were central to care but often remained in the shadows, especially when information about complications, surgery and discharge was missing.
02An inviting environment, including direct conversations with staff and freedom to call the clinic, gave next of kin a sense of security.
03Next of kin wanted to be included in medical discussions, rounds and discharge planning, but often were not invited or called when transfers or deterioration happened.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
Only 11 next of kin were interviewed, all from one specialist hospital, so the findings may not represent other families or settings. The study reports relatives' experiences and does not measure patient outcomes, nurse behaviour or whether family involvement improved recovery. Patients and health professionals were not interviewed, so the picture is one-sided. Interviews took place 1 to 3 weeks after surgery, which helped recall but may still miss earlier experiences before and immediately after the operation. Some patients had very short stays and moved to another hospital, but the study did not analyse how those systems interacted.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest and no financial support for the research, authorship or publication. The named funder was Forskningsrådet i Sydöstra Sverige.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these themes as proof that involving next of kin improves patient recovery or family well-being. The study interviewed 11 relatives at one hospital and reports their experiences, not a tested intervention.