La costruzione socio-culturale del vissuto e della manifestazione della fatigue nei pazienti oncologici: uno studio cross-culturale.

[Autom. eng. transl.] Fatigue is a common symptom in about 80% of patients with metastatic cancer and is transversally configured in different countries of the world, and is one of the main factors that deteriorates the quality of life of cancer patients. Although to date many studies have been conducted to understand the experience of cancer related fatigue, a clear understanding of the socio-cultural determinants of this symptom and its manifestations is still lacking. on the basis of these premises, a study was conducted to investigate how cancer patients (in 4 different countries: Canada, Italy, UK, Thailand) describe and give meaning to their experience of fatigue. In this study we propose a second-level reading of the evidence emerged in the various countries, investigating the subjective experience and the meanings attributed to the Fatigue symptom in metastatic cancer patients, with particular attention to the vocabulary and linguistic constructions used by patients to describe their experience . Method. In-depth interviews with patients with metastatic tumor pathology, stage III / IV with different levels of fatigue, conducted and analyzed according to the method of Ethnoscience. Results. Data analysis showed that fatigue has a La fatigue is a complex clinical phenomenon that requires integrated care strategies given its impact on different areas of life of patients. Educating the patient to manage the phenomenon of fatigue and the symptoms related to it could be particularly important to ensure a more effective management and improve the quality of life. The metaphor of cross-cultural comparison highlights how fatigue is a symptom strongly characterized from a socio-cultural point of view.