Poor sleep during hospitalization can negatively affect patient health, well-being, and satisfaction. This nurse-led quality improvement project aimed to promote quality sleep on an inpatient telemetry medical-surgical onco.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Over 50 % of cancers occur in people aged 70 and older, and 60 % of all cancer deaths occur in this population. Cancer care for the older adult is complex related to comorbidities, age related changes and various social needs. They also may experience cognitive and physical limitations during their cancer journey.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPatients receiving radiation therapy (RT) for cancer are at greater risk for falls because of age, treatment, pharmacologic side effects, and cognitive or motor deficits. The Timed Up and Go (TUG) Test is a validated, objecti.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFApproximately 1 in 3 adults have some type of advance directive. Advance care planning (ACP) is associated with greater use of supportive care services and decreased patient and family stress. Despite this, organizations continue to have difficulty in implementing effective programs for increasing ACP.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: The optimal time to assess older adults during cancer treatment regimen has not been established. This research study evaluated different points in time to reassess the geriatric oncology patient undergoing treatment.
Methods: This study included 250 patients who were new to the Senior Adult Oncology Clinic.
Extensive research addresses the prevalence and high fall risk for cancer patients related to age, diagnosis, treatment side effects, pharmacological side effects, and cognitive and/or motor deficits. The purpose of the study was to explore the thoughts and feelings that inpatient and outpatient oncology direct care nurses (registered nurses) and support staffs have about reasons patients fall; as well as their thoughts on what might be done to prevent falls. This descriptive qualitative study used focus groups as the method for discovery.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSignificance And Background: Falls are multifactorial in medical oncology units and are potentiated by an older adult's response to anxiolytics, opiates and chemotherapy protocols. In addition, the oncology patient is at an increased risk for injury from a fall due to coagulopathy, thrombocytopenia and advanced age. At our National Cancer Institute-designated inpatient cancer treatment centre located in the southeastern USA, 40% of the total discharges are over the age of 65.
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