The role of nurse in the care of patients with lymphedema.

Current situation The title of this bachelor's thesis is: "The Role of the Nurse in the Care of Patients with Lymphedema". As the title indicates the topic is the role of the nurse if the care of patients suffering from lymphedema. Lymphedema is a condition when the lymphatic system retains the fluid in the body and the fluid causes lymphatic tissue swelling. The lymphedema can be inherited or caused by a birth defect, in such a case it is a primary lymphedema. When we talk about secondary lymphedema, it means the lymphedema was caused by lymphatic system malfunction. The causes of secondary lymphedema can be surgeries with inevitable interventions in the lymphatic system, most frequently interventions in sentinel nodes. Other interventions increasing the risk of lymphedema are radiotherapy, chemotherapy, iatrogenic lesions and/or accidents. The most frequent causes are surgical interventions, in particular in case of breast ablation and/or gynaecological cancer. Objective of the thesis Two objectives were selected for the research part of the bachelor's thesis: Mapping the role of the nurse in the care for patients with lymphedema from the nurse's perspective and Mapping the role of the nurse in the care for patients with lymphedema from the patient's perspective. Methodology In order to fulfil the first objective we decided to use the technique of qualitative research survey, in particular in-depth interviews. The research set consisted of six nurses from gynaecological and surgical departments of the Nemocnice Rudolfa a Stefanie Benešov, a.s. Hospital. In order to achieve the second objective we chose the same technique of qualitative research survey in the form of in-depth interviews. The research set consisted of six patients suffering from lymphedema. We carried out altogether fourteen interviews within the research between March and June 2017. All respondents came from the Central Bohemia Region near the town of Benešov. Upon the transcription of the interviews in Microsoft Word the data was classified and processed by open coding. Results Upon analysing the data four categories of results from the interviews with nurses appeared. The categories were: Nurses' knowledge of the problem, Regime measures, Specificities of the nursing care and Education of patients after a risk intervention. The results of the interviews with patients were classified into five categories: Occurrence of lymphedema, Treatment of lymphedema, Regime measures, Specificities of the nursing care and Education focused on prevention. Conclusion The objective of the bachelor's thesis was to map the role of the nurse in the care of patients with lymphedema from the nurse's as well as the patient's perspective and we also wanted to study in more detail the issue of lymphedema and specificities of care for patients suffering from this condition. The thesis focuses also on the education provided by the nurse regarding primary prevention. The analysis of the acquired data revealed deficiencies in the education and generally primary prevention, and therefore an information leaflet for nurses was prepared