Blaming in women with breast cancer subjected to intimate partner violence: A hermeneutic phenomenological study

Leila Sheikhnezhad; Hadi Hassankhani; Erika Metzler Sawin; Zohreh Sanaat; Mohammad Hasan Sahebihagh

doi:10.1016/j.apjon.2023.100193

Blaming in women with breast cancer subjected to intimate partner violence: A hermeneutic phenomenological study

Asia Pac J Oncol Nurs. 2023 Feb 1;10(3):100193. doi: 10.1016/j.apjon.2023.100193. eCollection 2023 Mar.

Authors

Leila Sheikhnezhad¹, Hadi Hassankhani², Erika Metzler Sawin³, Zohreh Sanaat⁴, Mohammad Hasan Sahebihagh⁵

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
² Medical Surgical Nursing Department. Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
³ Department of Nursing, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA, USA.
⁴ Hematology and Oncology Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
⁵ Community Health Nursing Department, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.

Abstract

Objective: The present study was conducted to determine the blaming experiences of women with breast cancer subjected to intimate partner violence (IPV).

Methods: This hermeneutic phenomenological study explored blaming experiences of women with breast cancer subjected to IPV. Nine women with a mean age of 47.5 years referred to oncology hospitals in Tabriz (Iran) were interviewed using semi-structured in-depth interviews. Data analysis was performed based on Van Manen's thematic analysis method.

Results: The main theme emerged from the data is "blaming as a shifting cognitive judgment" with three subthemes of patient blaming partner, partner blaming patient, and self-blame.

Conclusions: The findings of the present study revealed that cognitive judgment shifting could be emerged as different types of blaming in the patients with breast cancer exposed to IPV. It is suggested that oncology nurses heed the psychological needs of women with breast cancer through holistic nursing considering couple and family-centered care.

Keywords: Blaming; Breast cancer; Hermeneutic phenomenological; Intimate partner violence.