Exploring research engagement among nurses in a Magnet®-recognized cancer center: An analysis of knowledge, attitudes, practices, and influencing factors.

Objective: Despite the significance of research in nursing practice and its role in enhancing the quality of life for cancer patients, nurses report limited opportunities to engage with research. Known barriers include limited organizational support, a lack of time, resources, and knowledgeable colleagues/mentors. The study aims to determine research knowledge, attitudes, and practices among cancer nurses and understand factors influencing nurses' involvement in research.

Enhanced PAtient Clinical Streamlining (EPACS): Quality Initiative to Improve Healthcare for New Surgical Outpatient Visits.

Purpose: For patients who select a specialty hospital for cancer treatment, the wait time until the initial consultation leaves patients anxious and delays treatment. To improve quality of care, we implemented an enhanced patient clinical streamlining (EPACS) process that establishes an early connection and coordinates care before the first surgical outpatient visit at our specialty cancer center.

Methods: During a pre-visit EPACS phone call to new patients, an advanced practice provider (APP) collected medical history and ordered work-up tests or consultations if feasible.

Prevalence of patient-reported gastrointestinal symptoms and agreement with clinician toxicity assessments in radiation therapy for anal cancer.

Purpose: Gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms pose a significant burden to patients receiving chemoradiation therapy (CRT) for anal cancer; however, the impact of symptoms from the patient perspective has not been quantified. This retrospective study examined and compared patient and clinician reports of acute GI toxicity during CRT.

Materials And Methods: Patients treated with definitive RT using intensity-modulated radiation therapy for anal cancer between 9/09 and 11/12 were reviewed.

Prospective study of vaginal dilator use adherence and efficacy following radiotherapy.

Background And Purpose: Vaginal stenosis (VS) after pelvic radiotherapy (RT) can impair long-term quality of life. We prospectively assessed adherence and efficacy of vaginal dilator (VD) use in women after pelvic RT.

Material And Methods: Women with gastrointestinal (n=63) and gynecologic (n=46) cancers self-reported use and VD size in monthly diaries for 12months after radiotherapy.

Dosimetric Predictors of Radiation-Induced Vaginal Stenosis After Pelvic Radiation Therapy for Rectal and Anal Cancer.

Purpose: Although vaginal stenosis (VS) is a recognized toxicity in women who receive pelvic radiation therapy (RT), the relationship between RT dose and the volume and extent of toxicity has not been analyzed. We modeled this relationship to identify predictors of VS.

Methods And Materials: We evaluated 54 women, aged 29 to 78 years, who underwent pelvic RT for rectal or anal cancer during 2008 to 2011 and were enrolled in a prospective study evaluating vaginal dilator use.

Patient-Reported Outcomes vs. Clinician Symptom Reporting During Chemoradiation for Rectal Cancer.

Background: Pelvic radiotherapy with concurrent 5-fluorouracil-based chemotherapy is a component of standard therapy for patients with T3/T4 or node-positive rectal cancer and may be associated with acute gastrointestinal toxicity. In this retrospective study, we sought to compare patient-reported outcomes (PROs) with clinician reports of acute symptoms experienced by rectal cancer patients receiving chemoradiation.

Patients And Methods: Charts of 199 patients with rectal cancer who received chemoradiation at some point from November 2006 through February 2011 were reviewed.

Nursing management of patients receiving stereotactic radiosurgery.

Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is a minimally invasive procedure that delivers high-dose radiation in a single fraction to a precisely targeted lesion in the brain. When SRS is provided using a modified linear accelerator that produces x-ray beams, a stereotactic head ring is used for localization of the target area and immobilization during treatment. Radiation oncology nurses have a unique role in caring for patients receiving SRS.