Aaron Worsley

Purpose Prostate cancer is a leading cause of death in black men in the United Kingdom (UK). Evidence suggests that unmet supportive care needs are prevalent in contemporary healthcare, particularly for men with advanced prostate cancer, whilst less has been written specifically about the supportive care needs of black men. Therefore this study will examine black men’s experiences of support following prostate cancer treatment in England.

Method A qualitative research design was employed. Twenty black African and black Caribbean men were interviewed on a face-to-face basis to obtain insightful information about their experiences of prostate cancer. Interviews were recorded and transcribed. Data were analysed using thematic analysis which allowed for emergent themes.

Results In this study there were six emergent themes. These were: dealing with the treatment effect, support from loved ones, individuals and organisations, healthcare support, spirituality, and positivity. Black men used different coping strategies to deal with the side effects of treatment.

Conclusion Black men experienced a range of supportive care needs. Some men felt that their individual needs as black men were not met by healthcare professionals, although no specific reasons were forthcoming as to why they felt this way. Healthcare professionals should be aware of the support mechanisms that black men have used throughout the prostate cancer journey and to consider these approaches when treating and caring for black men.

This article documents the different forms of advocacy and highlights the importance of advocacy in the UK health- and social-care settings. It draws on a number of elements related to advocacy to demonstrate the challenges that nurses may encounter. Moreover, it identifies the skills and knowledge that nurses may use as being advocates for patients/clients and their families. The article makes a strong argument by highlighting that nurses are essential advocates and are duty-bound to adhere to their professional code of conduct. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Code clearly states that nurses must ensure that patients/clients and their families are protected, respected, treated with dignity, and are given the highest standard of person-centered care. This article has considered these in relation to nurse advocacy.

Purpose: To synthesise findings from published studies on barriers and facilitators to Black men accessing and utilising post-treatment psychosocial support after prostate cancer (CaP) treatment.

Methods: Searches of Medline, Embase, PsycInfo, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and Central, CINAHL plus and Scopus were undertaken from inception to May 2021. English language studies involving Black men aged ³18 and reporting experiences of, or suggestions for, psychosocial support after CaP treatment were included. Low or moderate quality studies were excluded. Searches identified 4,453 articles and following deduplication, 2,325 were screened for eligibility. Two independent reviewers carried out screening, quality appraisal and data extraction. Data were analysed using thematic synthesis.

Results: Ten qualitative studies involving 139 Black men were included. Data analysis identified four analytical constructs. Experience of psychosocial support for dealing with treatment side-effects (including impact on self-esteem, fear of recurrence); barriers to use of psychosocial support (such as perceptions of masculinity, stigma around sexual dysfunction); facilitators to use of psychosocial support (including the influence of others and self-motivation); and practical solutions for designing and delivering post-treatment psychosocial support (the need for trusted healthcare and cultural channels).

Conclusions: Few intervention studies have focused on behaviours among Black CaP survivors, with existing research predominantly involving Caucasian men. There is a need for a collaborative approach to CaP care that recognises not only medical expertise, but also the autonomy of Black men as experts of their illness experience, and the influence of cultural and social networks.

Postpartum Depression (PPD) is highly prevalent among women in low and middle income countries (LMICs). World Heath Organization has recognised interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) as the first line treatment for the postpartum depression. The primary aim of this review is to evaluate the effectiveness of IPT alone or in combination with pharmacotherapy or other psychosocial therapies for treating depressive symptoms in women with postpartum depression. The generated evidence from this review will help to inform policies in relation to the treatment of postpartum depression in LMICs.

Purpose. To synthesize literature in order to elucidate the experiences of men who have survived testicular cancer and determine their quality of life following treatment. Methods. An integrated review sought appropriate literature by utilising a keyword search across seven databases. Retrieved studies were appraised for quality, with two qualitative, twelve quantitative, and two mixed method studies deemed appropriate for this review. The data were extracted and aggregated into categories by way of a thematic analysis. The themes were: personal challenges and impact on health, psychological and emotive challenges, perception of reproduction and sexual changes, and outlook and support. Results. Men experienced physical, emotional, and sexual difficulties. Some men believed they were infertile, despite evidence that fertility is not compromised in the long term. Psychological conditions can be exacerbated by cultural pressures to conceive and cultural expressions about male identity. Men who had undergone orchidectomy reported minimal impact on their mental health than the men who had chemotherapy or radiotherapy as part of their treatment modality.  Sexual dysfunction caused by chemotherapy-associated side effects was detrimental to men’s quality of life. In addition, men who had a partner, who were employed, and who had children were able to adjust better after treatment than those who did not. Provision of clear and honest information post-treatment helped testicular cancer survivors return to their normal lives. Conclusions.
The evidence from the review suggests that the burden of disease for testicular cancer survivors is overall low. Men who had surgical intervention and were treated for testicular cancer experienced minimal impact on their mental health status than the men who had chemotherapy or radiotherapy as part of their treatment modality. Implications for Cancer Survivors. There is a need to provide appropriate referrals to the relevant services, including psychosocial support, and the development of more adequate communication resources for men following treatment for testicular cancer.

The aim of this study was to investigate the views and opinions of health and life sciences scholars towards subscriptions to e-journals. An instrumental case study was employed as the research design. Nine scholars were individually interviewed. Health and life sciences scholars in this study were happy with the level of e-journal accessibility provided by the library. There was acceptance that, due to restrictions, they could not always access the material they wanted, and so they sought other avenues to obtain full-text articles. Scholars had differing opinions around subscription costs, open access, and the scholarly publishing sector.

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men in the UK, with 46 690 new cases in 2014. While there is sufficient research on this topic in the USA, there is no review in the UK regarding both black men and their significant others’ perspective on prostate cancer screening. Aim: To identify and explore factors that may influence black men and their significant others’ knowledge and awareness of prostate cancer screening. Method: A literature search revealed seven relevant articles. Results: Six of the seven articles were conducted in the USA. The results are described using four themes: perception of prostate cancer screening, fear,

anxiety and discomfort, misinformation about prostate cancer screening procedures and communication and decision-making. Conclusion: The evidence suggests that some black men and their significant others had knowledge and awareness of prostate cancer screening. However, their views were influenced by misperceptions, misinformation, fear and anxiety

around screening procedures and mortality. Communication and spousal support were important in decision making.

Objective: To report a meta-synthesis of qualitative studies exploring men’s sense of masculinity following treatment for prostate cancer.
 

Interventions/Methods: Six databases were searched to identify relevant studies conducted and published between Jan 1990 and Aug 2016. Titles and abstracts were reviewed by two reviewers. Studies that met the inclusion criteria were selected and reviewed for quality. The extracted data was then synthesised. 
 

Results: A total of 14 studies met the inclusion criteria and passed the quality assessment. The meta-synthesis found that men’s sense of masculinity diminished following treatment for prostate cancer. Impotence, incontinence, the loss of control and physical changes caused psychological stress. Underpinning these factors were cultural influences and dominant ideals of what it means to be a man. 
 

Conclusions: Men had entrenched ideas about what manhood entailed. The review found that men’s sense of masculinity was diminished post treatment for prostate cancer. They felt that they could not exercise their manliness because of the side effects associated with prostate cancer treatment.
 

Implications for Practice: More support and communication throughout the process is required to better inform patients of the outcomes of treatment. Additionally, it would be beneficial to have open forums through which to encourage men to talk frankly about their masculine identities.