An Assessment of Health Information Resource Center and Supportive Program Needs.

Objective: No practical method or assessment tool for identifying patients' and their families' health information resource needs in a resource center exists. We sought to assess the health information and resource preferences of patients and their families to guide the planning of a health information resource center (HIRC).

Methods: A needs assessment was conducted using convenience sample of patients and families drawn from the National Cancer Centre in Singapore.

Determining the Concerns of Breast Cancer Survivors to Inform Practice.

Objective: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women across all ethnicities, accounting for almost one in three incident cancers in female, and the leading cause of mortality in Singapore. Literature reveals that survivors of breast cancer have many concerns, and these concerns can linger on for decades. The primary aim of this secondary analysis was to establish the concerns of breast cancer survivors and use the data to inform practice.

Supporting the patients with advanced cancer and their family caregivers: what are their palliative care needs?

Background: The impact and consequences of cancer on the patients and their family caregivers (FCs) are closely intertwined. Caregivers' burdens can be increased due to the patients' unmet needs and unresolved problems. Additionally, the caregivers' unmet needs may adversely affect their own well-being and the patients' health outcomes.

Caregivers of cancer patients: what are their information-seeking behaviours and resource preferences?

Cancer impacts not only the patient but also the family members who share the distressing trajectory of the patient. The literature indicates that caregivers have many unmet information needs while providing care and support to the cancer patients, and caregivers have to resort to seeking information to supplement their information needs. This study aims to establish the prevalence of health-information-seeking behaviours among caregivers of cancer patients as a means of ascertaining if their information needs have been met and their information source and resource preference.

Challenges Confronting the Practice of Nursing in Singapore.

Singapore, a young nation like many developed countries, faced a shortage of nurses. Attempts to resolve the workforce shortage through the employment of foreign nurses started in the mid-1980s. Over the years, workforce recruitment from traditional sources nearby, namely Malaysia and Philippines, has expanded to include nurses from countries such as People Republic of China, India, and Myanmar.

Oncology Nursing in Singapore: How It Evolved and What Does the Future Hold?

Cancer is the leading cause of death in Singapore since the early 1980s and has remained so since then, accounting for 29.7% of deaths in 2015. Rapid technological advancements in the treatment of cancer and the development of the specialty of radiation and medical oncology demanded nurses with the knowledge and skills to provide care and support to cancer patients and their families.

Cancer Survivors: What Are Their Information Seeking Behaviours?

This study aims to examine the information seeking behaviours and experiences of cancer survivors at various stages of the cancer survivorship trajectory in Singapore. Data was collected via a self-administered questionnaire from survivors diagnosed with the top 6 cancers in Singapore seen at the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS). Cancer survivorship stages were categorized as newly diagnosed and on treatment (NT), completed treatment or cancer-free ≥ 5 years (CT) and had recurrence or second cancer (RS).

A qualitative approach in determining the patient-centered information and supportive care needs of cancer patients in Singapore.

Objectives: To qualitatively interpret the information and supportive care needs perceived by cancer patients undergoing treatment in order to get a deeper appreciation of patients' needs and concerns. The intended outcome is to provide baseline knowledge for improving patient-centred strategies to better meet the information and supportive needs of patients.

Design: A qualitative research approach, based on conventional content analysis, was used throughout the research process.

Medication Safety: A Need to Relook at Double-Checking Medicines?

Objective: To present a structured evaluation process that provides evidence that the single-checking (SC) system is not only a viable option in reducing medication errors, but also has the added advantage of increasing staff satisfaction.

Methods: The structured evaluation involved one work improvement process and conducting a survey establishing registered nurses' (RNs') attitude toward SC of medicines. The survey questionnaire included 12 questions with a 5-point Likert scale.

Information sources and online information seeking behaviours of cancer patients in Singapore.

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of Internet usage among cancer patients in seeking health-related information and the type of information sought. Sources of information received from, preferences for information sources and the perceived usefulness of information from these sources were also examined in this study. A self-administered questionnaire was used to evaluate the information needs of patients undergoing cancer treatment.

What information do cancer patients want and how well are their needs being met?

The goal of this study is to determine the type of information cancer patients need and to measure the extent to which these information needs are met by measuring patients' levels of satisfaction. A self-administered questionnaire developed through extensive literature reviews was pilot tested on 11 cancer patients using convenience sampling in a large ambulatory cancer centre in Singapore. All eligible patients attending the centre during a 5-month period were invited to complete the 76-item survey that had been designed to evaluate self-reported information needs and level of satisfaction with the information received while undergoing cancer treatment.