Sammanfattning
Specialised nursing care provided in the home to surgically treated patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) serves to identify HNC nursing needs as regards competence-building, quality of nursing and patients’ perceptions of nursing care.
Method: A pre-post test design with qualitative and quantitative data sources. An intervention consisting of domiciliary visits by an HNC nurse to HNC patients was compared with a historical group of patients who received no domiciliary visits.
Results: 156 patients participated in the intervention, and the historical group consisted of 125 patients.
Nursing in the patient’s home comprised information, guidance and procedures related to a number of needs. Telephone conversations were conducted, which comprised guidance of patients and relatives and coordination with the domiciliary nursing team, a caseworker and community-level rehabilitation.
Significance for nursing: Specialised nursing from hospital care to care in the community and domiciliary care ameliorates the transition from hospital care to care in the community, but also communication and continuity of care between nurses in the secondary and primary sectors.