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Understanding the symptom experiences and management strategies of people with bladder cancer is important for nurses. Awareness of outcomes of the strategies used can enable health care practitioners to provide effective advice to bladder cancer patients. We aimed to examine symptom experiences in patients with each cancer grade; to survey symptom management strategies and outcomes. This study was a cross‐sectional survey design. A total of 62 patients receiving care in a northern Thailand university hospital during December 2011 and June 2012 were recruited as subjects. Participants completed a modified questionnaire based on the framework of the symptom management model. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The findings revealed: (i) the three most frequent and severe symptoms in the high grade group were frequent urination, constipation and anxiety; in the low grade group were frequent urination, fatigue and anxiety: (ii) the symptom management strategies revealed correspondence in both groups as follows: for frequent urination strategies were consulting a physician, restricting fluids, using herbs and doing nothing; for constipation strategies were taking a laxative, eating tamarind, eating vegetables/high‐fibre fruits and using a suppository; for anxiety strategies were prayer, going to the temple, meditating, talking with family/friends, relaxing, taking up a hobby, resting and consulting a physician; for fatigue strategies were resting, using supplements and consulting a physician: (iii) the outcomes revealed that most of the strategies showed positive outcomes. Positive outcomes could be used as a guide in providing recommendations to patients with bladder cancer and to support further research in this area. Further work is needed to develop interventions that work for specific symptoms.

Aim To analyse the recovery situation of patients who underwent abdominal surgery. Design A descriptive study. Method This study was conducted among 50 participants: 15 postoperative patients, 16 caregivers, 2 surgeons and 17 nurses in a tertiary hospital in Thailand. The state of patients’ recovery after undergoing major abdominal surgery was analysed using Donabedian's approach. Results The findings showed that hospitals and some organizations do not have a clear policy about clinical care to help patients recover after undergoing major surgery or to prevent the risk of complications following major abdominal surgery. In addition, there were no clinical practice guidelines in use in each ward. Each ward should have a set of guidelines and procedures for assisting with patient recovery. The procedures should be based on nursing care. It is necessary to have a coordinated multidisciplinary care guideline to use with other health professionals to promote the recovery of patients.

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Objective: This study aimed to describe family system functioning, in providing care for a family member, after surviving a severe traumatic brain injury (TBI).Material and Methods: A cross sectional survey, using a self-report questionnaire, was conducted with 77 family members; from 32 families, caring for survivors from one province in southern Thailand. Family system functioning was measured using the Family Assessment Measure III (FAM-III) General Scale, Thai version as well as a demographic questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were applied to analyze family functioning including means, standard deviation, percentage and T-scores.Results: The findings showed that the overall family system functioning existed within the moderate level (M=49.94, S.D. =8.99). The finding also indicated moderate levels of functioning within the FAM III subscales.Conclusion: The present findings provide evidence that family systems functioning was at a moderate level in those providing care for a family member who had sustained a severe TBI. This level of function might pose difficulty regarding ability of the family towards a variety of basic, developmental and crisis tasks. The investigation suggests a future study, complementing quantitative methods with qualitative approaches.