5063 - EONS Poster - How an empowerment program can touch cancer survivor's life by improving posttraumatic growth?

Background

Cancer experience can cause traumatic symptoms with higher levels of stress. Although cancer has been traditionally seen as a destructive illness, in recent years, this perspective has been abandoned, and it is being argued that coping with cancer and developing growth is possible. Research in this area has supported this new perspective, and the results have shown that cancer does not always contain traumatic effects and people can also have positive attainments during this process. Re-meaning of life during cancer process enables posttraumatic growth (PTG), which improves interpersonal relations, inner resurgence, and deeper spirituality.

Methods

Researcher has studied on an empowerment program in her PhD thesis and keeps working on this area. Hence, the aim in this study is to point out the effects of an empowerment program to improve PTG of cancer survivors. Literature review and sharing experience in such works.

Results

Having resilience in cancer experience help people to understand the value of life, find new meanings, determine the priorities in life, and reach spiritual well-being. Re-meaning of life during cancer process enables posttraumatic growth, which improves interpersonal relations, inner resurgence, and deeper spirituality. In this regards, using an empowerment program can be an effective way in helping the participants recognize the nature of the problem in their life, and created a safe and therapeutic environment to improve their social skills. Also, such programs refer to the use of not only intrinsic sources, such as self-efficacy and self-esteem, but also extrinsic ones, such as social support and social coherence. On the other hand, providing supportive activities/programs are valuable to help them learn from others who had similar experiences; in this way, they can feel understood, accept the process with its positive and negative consequences, and have better coping strategies.

Conclusions

Empowerment program could improve both PTG in cancer survivors and nurses caring for cancer survivors can use such programs to improve PTG and resilience, in addition to the usual medical care in cancer. By this way, cancer survivor can have enough psychological support which usually forgotten among routine medical care.

Clinical trial identification

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Legal entity responsible for the study

Yeter Sinem Üzar Özçetin.

Funding

Has not received any funding.

Editorial Acknowledgement

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Disclosure

The author has declared no conflicts of interest.