Objective. Touch is one of the first strong positive senses that develop in neonate. Therapeutic touch could be considered as a complementary treatment in Neonate intensive care units (NICU). Methods. This quasi-experimental study was conducted to compare the effect of Yakson and GHT on behavioral reaction of preterm infants hospitalized in NICU in south-east of Iran. 90 preterm infants participated in this study. They are randomly divided into 3 groups: (1) Yakson group, n = 30, (2) GHT group, n = 30, (3) control group, n = 30. Each infant received the GHT and Yakson interventions twice a day for 5 days. Each session lasted 15 minutes. The control group received routine nursing care. Results. In interventional group, an increase was found in sleep state score after the Yakson and GHT intervention. Their awake and fussy states' scores decreased after both interventions. No significant difference was found between Yakson and GHT group in their behavioral state scores. Conclusion. The findings suggest that Yakson and GHT had soothing and calming effect on preterm infants and could be beneficial in nursing interventions.

Aim:

To compare the attitudes of Iranian and Swedish nursing students toward caring for dying persons.

Materials and Methods:

Their attitudes were measured with the Frommelt’s Attitude Toward Caring of the Dying and the Death Attitude Profile Revised.

Results:

The results indicated that the participating Iranian students were more afraid of death and less likely to give care to dying persons than the Swedish participants.

Conclusion:

It is suggested that theoretical education should be individualized and culturally sensitive in order to positively influence the students’ attitudes, and promote professional development.

Objective:

Our world is rapidly becoming a global community, which creates a need to further understand the universal phenomena of death and professional caring for dying persons. This study thus was conducted to describe the meaning of nurses’ experiences of caring for dying people in the cultural contexts of Iran and Sweden.

Materials and Methods:

Using a phenomenological approach, phenomenon of caring for dying people was studied. Eight registered nurses who were working in oncology units in Tehran, Iran and eight registered nurses working in hospital and home care in North part of Sweden were interviewed. The interviews were analyzed using the principles of phenomenological hermeneutics.

Results:

The findings were formulated based on two themes included: (1) “Sharing space and time to be lost”, and (2) “Caring is a learning process.

Conclusions:

The results showed that being with dying people raise an ethical demand that calls for personal and professional response, regardless of sex, culture or context. The physical and organizational context must be supportive and enable nurses to stand up to the demands of close relationships. Specific units and teamwork across various personnel seem to be a solution that is missing in Iran.

Aim:

To explore the meaning of Iranian oncology nurses' experiences of caring for people at the end of life.

Materials and Methods:

A phenomenological hermeneutic approach was applied. Fifteen nurses working in oncology units were interviewed in 2007 regarding their experiences of caring for people at the end of life.

Results:

Participants experienced caring for people at the end of life as sharing space and time to be lost within an organizational context. This main theme was divided into three subthemes including being attentive to the dying persons and their families, being cared for by the dying persons and their families, and being faced with barriers.

Conclusion:

The study suggests that the nurses' success in caring for people at the end of life is reliant on their interpersonal caring relationship. Facilitating such relationship requires the establishment of palliative care unit, incorporation of palliative care into undergraduate nursing studies, and cultural preparation through public education.