When the housewife is missing.

The focus of this research was on a hospitalized wife's/mother's experience of absence from the home and the resulting alterations in her family's organization. This study was one of a series of studies developed by the Family Nursing Studies Group at the University of Sao Paulo (GEENF-EEUSP). Three women experiencing gynecological cancer were interviewed during their hospitalizations to understand the woman's role in the family and the ways her illness and absence from home affected her family. Using qualitative techniques, seven themes were identified: having an obligation to carry out her role, wanting to go back home as soon as possible, perceiving changes in the roles of family members, feeling like she is missing in the house, knowing that the house does not work without her, not having control of the future, and searching for support to cope. Findings support the need for nurses to implement family-centered interventions for families experiencing cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]