Oncology Nurses' Perspectives and Practices Toward the Delivery of Cancer Survivorship Care in Hong Kong

Understanding the Experience of Cancer Survivorship Among Pediatric and Adolescent Cancer Survivors and Their Parents Through Camera Lenses: A Photovoice Study

OBJECTIVE

Although the relative survival rate of childhood cancer has increased substantially in recent years, the pursuit of successful outcomes is often accompanied by negative impacts on pediatric and adolescent cancer survivors and their parents' physical and psychological well-being. However, little is known about their experiences during the period of cancer survivorship. This study aimed to gain an understanding of the experience of cancer survivorship among pediatric and adolescent cancer survivors and their parents.

METHODS

This study utilized a descriptive qualitative study employing the photovoice design. From September 2022 to March 2023, 17 pediatric and adolescent cancer survivors (9-18 years), who had completed active treatment at least 6 months before recruitment, participated in this study. A total of 217 photographs submitted by survivors and their parents and the interview data, were thematically analyzed to identify themes and subthemes.

RESULTS

The analysis revealed five prominent themes: indelible marks, struggling with late effects, striving to return to normalcy, the strength of support, and living in the moment and hope for the future.

CONCLUSION

The findings shed light on the experiences of pediatric and adolescent cancer survivors and their parents throughout the cancer journey, elucidating the influence on both negative and positive aspects. Additionally, the study highlighted that photovoice facilitated self-reflection, the discovery of values, and the recognition of strengths and can be a therapeutic strategy for pediatric and adolescent cancer survivors and their parents in further research.

Knowledge, Perception, and Skills, and Practices of Oncology Nurses in Cancer Survivorship Care: a Scoping Review

Survivorship care focuses on the well-being and quality of life of people affected by cancer. Oncology nurses play an essential role in survivorship care and must be equipped with the knowledge, skills, and competencies to provide survivorship care. This scoping review explored the existing literature on nurses' knowledge, perception, skills, or practices in delivering cancer survivorship care for adult cancer survivors. A scoping review was conducted through databases including PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science, and PsycInfo in February 2022, following the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology. Fourteen original research studies were included. Most of the studies were conducted in the USA and targeted oncology registered nurses. The studies primarily focused on the knowledge (n = 2, 14.3%), perception of responsibility (n = 8, 57.1%), and practice (n = 9, 64.3%) regarding survivorship care among oncology nurses, reporting widely varied results. Nine studies reported perceived skills, practice, and perceived barriers as the most used outcome measurements, while two assessed nurses' cancer survivorship care knowledge. The main gaps were discrepancies between oncology nurses' perceptions of responsibility and practices in delivering survivorship care. Lack of time, knowledge, and skills were reported as significant factors impeding survivorship care provision among oncology nurses. Limited research shows a gap in integrating knowledge into survivorship care practices among oncology nurses. Further studies are needed to develop educational programs on survivorship care to support the integration of survivorship care into oncology nurses' practice.

Prevalence and factors associated with compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue among Chinese oncology healthcare professionals: A cross-sectional survey

Objective

This cross-sectional study examined the prevalence and factors associated with compassion satisfaction and fatigue among oncology healthcare professionals (doctors and nurses) in mainland China.

Methods

A total of 337 subjects were recruited via convenience sampling from the oncology departments of five general hospitals in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. They were invited to complete a survey that included demographic characteristics, the Profession Quality of life Scale, the Brief Cope Questionnaire, and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale.

Results

The findings showed medium levels of compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress among oncology healthcare professionals in China, reaching rates of 78.34%, 63.50% and 75.96%, respectively. Multiple regression analyses suggested that active coping, positive reframing, and strength were the significant factors of compassion satisfaction, explaining 48.6% of the total variance (P ​< ​0.001). Substance use and self-blame were the significant factors of burnout, explaining 45.1% of the total variance (P ​< ​0.001). Venting, denial, substance use, self-blame, and strength were the significant factors of secondary traumatic stress, explaining 37.6% of the total variance (P ​< ​0.001).

Conclusions

The high prevalence of compassion fatigue warrants the attention of the hospitals' senior management. The effective coping styles identified may be considered when developing strategies to improve the professional quality of life among oncology healthcare professionals.

Perspectives and practices regarding colorectal cancer survivorship care: Online survey results from oncology nurses in Thailand

PURPOSE

Limited research has highlighted disparities in survivorship care in low- and middle-income countries. However, such care for colorectal cancer (CRC) survivors remains unexplored, especially in Thailand. This study examined Thai oncology nurses' perceptions of responsibility, confidence levels, and frequency of survivorship care practice for CRC survivors and identified factors impeding such care.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study utilizing an online survey approach was conducted between October and November 2020. Thai oncology nurses (N = 155) completed the survey's demographic questionnaire, 29-item survivorship care scale, and 16-item impeding factor scale.

RESULTS

Oncology nurses had high levels of perceived responsibility (mean = 73.37, SD = 12.12) and confidence (mean = 65.09, SD = 14.89) for providing CRC survivorship care. However, they reported less frequency of practice (mean = 47.60, SD = 21.03), especially concerning sexual, fertility, employment, and financial issues. Nurses with higher education had significantly higher responsibility perceptions, confidence levels, and frequency of practice (all p < .05). Also, nurses with specialty training in cancer care reported higher frequency of practice (p = .013). Common factors impeding survivorship care were lack of physical facilities (60.4%), knowledge/skills (57.4%), and educational resources for family members (52.3%) and survivors (51.6%).

CONCLUSIONS

This study revealed inconsistencies between oncology nurses' responsibility perceptions, confidence levels, and frequency of survivorship care practice. The results can guide nurse researchers, educators, leaders, and policymakers in enhancing the quality of CRC survivorship care in low- and middle-income countries such as Thailand. Future efforts should focus on developing educational resources and training programs for survivorship care for oncology nurses and addressing factors impeding such care during healthcare service planning.