Aim: The purpose of our study was to construct the context of the nursing action/role in oncofertility care.
Design: Qualitative research.
Methods: We applied grounded theory to guide the qualitative study. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with 12 nurses in Taipei. The data were collected from August 2018 to February 2019.
Results: The core theme that described the role of nurses' decision-making in oncofertility care focused on understanding oncofertility from the self to the other. Care roles or actions in oncofertility that involved the process of psychological cognition were divided into four dimensions: perceiving the patient's changes and needs, triggering the self's emotions, empathizing with patient's situations and introspective care roles. Nurses who had experienced the phase of empathizing with the patient's situations developed more diverse roles and had positive actions toward oncofertility care. Based on the psychological changes for oncofertility decision-making process, implementing contextual training in oncofertility could help nurses create more positive actions in oncofertility care.
Keywords: cancer; decision-making; fertility preservation; nurses; nursing; oncofertility; pregnancy.
© 2020 The Authors. Nursing Open published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.