Patients with haematological diseases are entitled to supportive care. Considering organisational and technological development, support in the form of caring communication provided through the web is today a possible alternative. The aim of this thesis was to examine the usefulness and importance of a web-based counselling service to patients with haematological diseases. The basis for the thesis was a development project funded by the Swedish Cancer Society, which provided an opportunity to offer patients communication with a nurse through a web-based counselling service. Four studies were performed from a patient perspective. Study I had a cross-sectional design, measuring occurrence of anxiety and depression, and these variables’ associations to mastery, social support, and insomnia among patients with haematological diseases. Study II was a qualitative content analysis focusing on conditions for provision and use of the web-based counselling service. Study III used a qualitative hermeneutical approach to focus on patients’ experiences of using the counselling service. Study IV was a qualitative deductive analysis examining how communication within the web-based counselling service can be caring in accordance to caring theory. The results revealed that females of 30-49 years of age are vulnerable to experiencing anxiety. Low sense of mastery and support are associated with anxiety and/or depression. Being able to self-identify the need for support as well as appreciate the written medium are necessary conditions for the web-based counselling service to be used. The counselling service must also be part of a comprehensive range of supportive activities and web-based services to be useful. The main importance of the communication is that the patient’s influence on the communication is strengthened, and that the constant access to individual medical and caring assessment can imply a sense of safety. When patients share their innermost concerns and search for support, nursing compassion and competence can substantiate in explicit written responses. A conclusion is that there is a caring potential in communication within a web-based counselling service. To make this form of communication possible, nurses should take possession of and ensure that this medium for communication is offered to patients. Nurses should also increase their knowledge of caring communication in writing and how this possibly can impact patients.

Patients with haematological diseases are entitled to supportive care. Considering organisational and technological development, support in the form of caring communication provided through the web is today a possible alternative. The aim of this thesis was to examine the usefulness and importance of a web-based counselling service to patients with haematological diseases. The basis for the thesis was a development project funded by the Swedish Cancer Society, which provided an opportunity to offer patients communication with a nurse through a web-based counselling service. Four studies were performed from a patient perspective. Study I had a cross-sectional design, measuring occurrence of anxiety and depression, and these variables’ associations to mastery, social support, and insomnia among patients with haematological diseases. Study II was a qualitative content analysis focusing on conditions for provision and use of the web-based counselling service. Study III used a qualitative hermeneutical approach to focus on patients’ experiences of using the counselling service. Study IV was a qualitative deductive analysis examining how communication within the web-based counselling service can be caring in accordance to caring theory. The results revealed that females of 30-49 years of age are vulnerable to experiencing anxiety. Low sense of mastery and support are associated with anxiety and/or depression. Being able to self-identify the need for support as well as appreciate the written medium are necessary conditions for the web-based counselling service to be used. The counselling service must also be part of a comprehensive range of supportive activities and web-based services to be useful. The main importance of the communication is that the patient’s influence on the communication is strengthened, and that the constant access to individual medical and caring assessment can imply a sense of safety. When patients share their innermost concerns and search for support, nursing compassion and competence can substantiate in explicit written responses. A conclusion is that there is a caring potential in communication within a web-based counselling service. To make this form of communication possible, nurses should take possession of and ensure that this medium for communication is offered to patients. Nurses should also increase their knowledge of caring communication in writing and how this possibly can impact patients.

I bakgrunden presenteras sjuksköterskans och distriktssköterskans ansvarsområde, att arbetet ska utgå från ett etiskt och holistiskt förhållningssätt och främja hälsa genom exempelvis rådgivning. Forskning beskrev att arbetet med telefonrådgivning upplevdes stimulerande samtidigt som det var svårt att vara både grindvakt och vårdare. Som en hjälp i det arbetet kunde beslutsstöd användas, det sågs som ett skyddsnät som kompletterade sjuksköterskans erfarenheter. Det sågs även som ett kvalitétshöjande instrument samt att rädslan för att ta fel beslut och anmälas minskade. Syftet med studien var att beskriva sjuksköterskors och distriktssköterskors erfarenheter av att arbeta med telefonrådgivning utifrån det webbaserade rådgivningsstödet på vårdcentral. För att få fram beskrivningarna användes halvstrukturerade intervjuer som analyserades genom kvalitativ innehållsanalys med induktiv ansats. I resultatet beskrevs det att stödet skapade trygghet då det var en källa till kunskap, ett stöd vid behov, ett bra hjälpmedel och gav bekräftelse. Stödet sågs som otillräckligt och svårarbetat då det var svårnavigerat, tidskrävande, språket satte gränser, det kunde inte ersätta den kliniska blicken och stämde inte med verkligheten. Slutligen beskrevs det att den egna erfarenheten styr hur stödet används. Erfarenheterna var övervägande positiva, men omvårdnadsfokus minskade då dyrbar tid användes till att hantera rådgivningsstödet. / In the background we present the responsibilities of nurses and district nurses, namely that the duties will begin with an ethical and holistic point of view, and to promote health through for example giving advice. Research described that working with telephone counselling was perceived as stimulating, though hard being both a gatekeeper and a caretaker. One kind of help in that task could be decision support, it was seen as a safety net and a complement to the experience of the nurse. It was also seen as an instrument to improve quality, as well as reducing the fear of making the wrong decisions and being reported. The purpose of the study was to describe the experience of nurses and district nurses to work with telephone counselling using the web-based counselling support in health centres. To get the descriptions half structured interviews were used, which were analyzed by qualitative content analysis with an inductive approach. It was described in the result that the support created a sense of assurance, because it was a source of knowledge, a support when needed, a good aid, and gave confirmation. The support was also seen as insufficient and not user-friendly, since it was hard to navigate, time consuming, had a language barrier, it could not replace the clinical “eye”, and did not correspond with reality. Lastly it was said that the experience of each individual was a key in how the support was used. Most had positive experiences, but focus from taking care of patients was lost due to valuable time being used for handling the counselling support.