Abstract
Introduction
Many haematological malignancy survivors report long-term post-treatment physiological and psychosocial effects.
Objectives
This study examined cancer nurses’ perception of their role, confidence levels, practices and barriers in relation to survivorship care provision for patients with haematological malignancies.
Methods
Approximately 1300 cancer nurses were invited to participate in a survey. The survey was distributed to all cancer nurses at a Queensland tertiary cancer centre and via email through two Australian professional cancer nursing bodies.
Results
In total, 423 cancer nurses (33%) completed the survey. The majority of participants agreed that all survivorship interventions included in the survey should be within their role. Nurses were least confident in discussing fertility (M=5.93, SD=2.66), employment and financial issues with patients (M=6.19, SD=2.66) and discussing information about identifying signs of cancer recurrence (M=6.43, SD=2.69), on a 11-point scale from 0 to 10 with higher scores indicating greater confidence. The least frequently performed interventions included discussing fertility, intimacy and sexuality issues, and communicating survivorship care with the patient’s primary care providers, with over 60% of participants reporting not performing these interventions often. The most significant barriers perceived by participants were lack of dedicated end-of-treatment consultation (M=2.62, SD=1.13), time (M=2.58, SD=0.94), and an appropriate physical location (M=2.21, SD=1.01), on a 5-point scale (0=not at all; 4=a great deal).
Conclusions
The strong support from nurses for their role in survivorship care highlights opportunities that have not yet been adequately developed. Barriers identified in this survey should be considered in the design of future survivorship care models.
Many haematological malignancy survivors report long-term post-treatment physiological and psychosocial effects.
Objectives
This study examined cancer nurses’ perception of their role, confidence levels, practices and barriers in relation to survivorship care provision for patients with haematological malignancies.
Methods
Approximately 1300 cancer nurses were invited to participate in a survey. The survey was distributed to all cancer nurses at a Queensland tertiary cancer centre and via email through two Australian professional cancer nursing bodies.
Results
In total, 423 cancer nurses (33%) completed the survey. The majority of participants agreed that all survivorship interventions included in the survey should be within their role. Nurses were least confident in discussing fertility (M=5.93, SD=2.66), employment and financial issues with patients (M=6.19, SD=2.66) and discussing information about identifying signs of cancer recurrence (M=6.43, SD=2.69), on a 11-point scale from 0 to 10 with higher scores indicating greater confidence. The least frequently performed interventions included discussing fertility, intimacy and sexuality issues, and communicating survivorship care with the patient’s primary care providers, with over 60% of participants reporting not performing these interventions often. The most significant barriers perceived by participants were lack of dedicated end-of-treatment consultation (M=2.62, SD=1.13), time (M=2.58, SD=0.94), and an appropriate physical location (M=2.21, SD=1.01), on a 5-point scale (0=not at all; 4=a great deal).
Conclusions
The strong support from nurses for their role in survivorship care highlights opportunities that have not yet been adequately developed. Barriers identified in this survey should be considered in the design of future survivorship care models.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 221 |
| Journal | Supportive Care in Cancer |
| Volume | 24 |
| Issue number | Supplement 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jun 2016 |
| Externally published | Yes |
