Taxis K & Barber N (2003a) Ethnographic study of incidence and severity of intravenous drug errors. British Medical Journal 326, 684–687. Taxis K & Barber N (2003b) Causes of intravenous medication errors: an ethnographic study. Quality and Safety in Health Care 12, 343–347. Waring J (2005) Beyond Blame: cultural barriers to medical incident reporting. Social Science and Medicine 60, 1927–1935. Weeks KW, Lyne P & Torrance C (2000) Written drug dosage errors made by students: the threat to clinical effectiveness and the need for anew approach. Clinical Effectiveness in Nursing 4, 20–29. COMMENTARY Commentary on Liu JE, Mok E & Wong T (2006) Caring in nursing: investigating the meaning of caring from the perspective of cancer patients in Beijing, China. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 15, 188–196 Cecilia Lai-wan Chan PhD, RSW, JP Professor, Department of Social Work and Social Administration and Director, Center on Behavioral Health, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China Pamela Pui-yu Leung BSW, RSW Honorary Clinical Associate, Center on Behavioral Health and PhD candidate, Department of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China It is well recognized that cancer may bring psychological distress and psychiatric morbidity (Hopwood et al. 1991). Healthcare professionals are paying more attention to total personal care for cancer patients as in this study by Liu et al. This research on caring from the perspective of cancer patients is an important contribution to the current body of knowledge. The authors are outstanding researchers in the field of nursing for Chinese cancer patients. Their commitment to listen and learn from the patients is admirable. Chinese have become one of the biggest migrant groups to major cities in the world. The use of healthcare services amongst ethnic minorities such as Chinese patients is often a concern. Chinese are known to be a pragmatic population driven by meaning and purpose (Bond 1996). Their values, expectations, behaviour and emotional expression may be different from cancer patients of the West. The current study on meaning of care amongst Chinese cancer patients is therefore particularly timely. Cancer is regarded as a deadly disease and a curse in traditional Chinese folk belief (Reese et al. 2005). Diagnosis of cancer is a double burden because of the cultural myths of cancer and Chinese being not strong in emotional expression (Chan 1997, Chan et al. 2000). The study of care is best understood from the patients’ perspective. The authors adopt a qualitative method to hear voices of 20 Chinese patients in care, a long neglected area. Liu et al. (2006) conceptualize care in terms of professional attitude, sense of responsibility, skills and competence, intervention of nurses and communication with patients. The authors have performed an excellent job in analysing the data in great detail, and with methodological vigour. Chinese people tend to separate physical care from psychological and spiritual care. There is a common conception that physical care should be left for experts while psychological and emotional well-being should be managed by oneself (Lee et al. 2000). Chinese patients tend to think that they are capable of managing their own psychological needs. Correspondence: Cecilia Lai-wan Chan, Professor and Director, Center on Behavioral Health, University of Hong Kong, G/F, Pauline Chan Building, 10 Sasson Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong. E-mail: cecichan@hku.hk Ó 2007 The Authors. Journal compilation Ó 2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd 1191 doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2702.2005.01484.x