Title : Key features of professional interaction between a nurse and women with breast cancer (using the example of the State Budgetary Healthcare Institution of the Russian Cancer Clinical Outpatient Clinic)

Objective: To identify the features of professional interaction between nurses and women suffering from breast cancer in the conditions of the State Budgetary Healthcare Institution of the Russian Cancer Clinical Outpatient Clinic.

Material and methods: The study included 40 nurses of the State Budgetary Healthcare Institution of the Russian Cancer Clinical Outpatient Clinic of Ufa aged 25-65 years and 40 patients aged 30-75 years with a confirmed diagnosis of breast cancer receiving treatment at the Russian Cancer Clinical Outpatient Clinic. The questionnaire included questions about professional activities, level of knowledge, skills and job satisfaction, a questionnaire for assessing communication skills (scale from 1 to 10), questions about the frequency of psychological support (daily, weekly, rarely), length of service, department (chemotherapy, surgery, rehabilitation). The survey of patients included an assessment of satisfaction with the interaction with the nurse (5-point Likert scale), as well as an assessment of the presence of psychological support (yes/no).

Results: 60% of nurses rate their communication skills as high, 20% indicated an average level, and 20% noted their insufficiency. 40% of respondents provide psychological support daily, 35% provide weekly support, and 25% provide it rarely or do not do it at all. 60% of patients reported irregular support from medical staff. Significant differences in the communication skills of nurses working with breast cancer patients were found by length of service (H = 15.2; p = 0.00049). 30% of nurses completed oncopsychology courses. The highest average score was recorded in the chemotherapy department, followed by rehabilitation, and the lowest indicator was in surgery (H = 17.2, p = 0.00018). Correlation analysis between the level of nurses' support and patient satisfaction demonstrated a significant direct correlation (rs = 0.72, p<0.001).

Conclusion: The study revealed a shortage of resources, a lack of personnel training in psychological support and organizational barriers typical for the Russian oncology service. Elimination of these problems will improve the efficiency of providing care to women with breast cancer.

Key words: breast cancer, women, nurses, communication skills, professional interaction, oncopsychology.

Dr. Ildar Sufiyarov, surgeon, MD, Professor, Head of the Department of Nursing and Palliative Care at the Bashkir Medical University. He deals with the issues of palliative care for postoperative patients, professional nursing care.