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The Case of the Cord Blood Match

Clinical practice

The Case of the Cord Blood Match

Empower Recent Graduate Nurses to Be Patient Advocates

Nurse empowerment

Empower Recent Graduate Nurses to Be Patient Advocates

Shared Governance Committees Empower Nurses to Use Their Voice

Nurse empowerment

Shared Governance Committees Empower Nurses to Use Their Voice

Nursing Students Connect Beyond the Classroom With ONS Resources

Nursing education

Nursing Students Connect Beyond the Classroom With ONS Resources

COVID-19 Affects Cancer Caregivers, but Here Are Ways to Support Them

COVID-19 Affects Cancer Caregivers, but Here Are Ways to Support Them

February 19, 2021

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Biden-Harris Administration Invests $10 Billion to Address Disparities in Vaccine Confidence and Distribution

The Biden-Harris administration to strengthen public perception of COVID-19 coronavirus vaccines and ensure all Americans, including communities of color, those in rural areas, low-income populations, and other underserved communities in the pandemic response, receive their vaccinations.

Access to cancer care

Biden Establishes Gender Council to Advance Equity and Equality for Women

Although society has tried to take steps to confront gender disparities, women remain underrepresented across various sectors. Title IX in 1972 granted every American student the right to education without gender discrimination. However, female students still bear the brunt of sex-segregated programs and gender-based violence, two major obstacles to educational equality. Women consistently earn less than their male counterparts. The wage gap is larger for most women of color, and gender discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace perpetuate economic divides. More women work today than ever before, but they face barriers to leadership roles, such as stereotypes about their performance abilities, uneven demands of motherhood compared to male partners, and the reality that many workplaces prefer and reward masculine leadership styles. Health needs are substantially greater for older women compared to older men, but women reported fewer visits with a physician and lesser likelihood to stay in a hospital.

Nurse self-care

ANA: Nurses Should Remember the Importance of Self-Care

Nurses are selfless caregivers. However, compared to the average American, they are more likely to be overweight, have higher levels of stress, and get less than the recommended hours of sleep. Long shifts and work hazards only exacerbate nurses’ propensity for those factors. In response, the American Nurses Association (ANA) is raising awareness for nurses to think about themselves.

Patient Education

NCCN Dr. Steven Pergam Educates Patients With Cancer on COVID-19

Steven Pergam, MD, MPH, associate professor of the vaccine and infectious disease division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, WA, and infection prevention director at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, co-led a National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) committee that issued recommendations on COVID-19 vaccination for patients with cancer. He received his first Moderna dose on December 29, 2020, and has been dispelling fear and spreading education about the vaccine.

National Cancer Institute (NCI)

NCI Uses Federal Funds to Increase Grant Paylines for Emerging Nurse Researchers

When the U.S. Congress passed the FY 2021 funding bill at the end of 2020, it recommitted its dedication to cancer research by increasing the National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute’s (NCI’s) budget by $120 million.

How Public Health Can Stop the Pandemic (Hint: It’s COVID-19 Vaccination)

The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has changed the world as we know it. The mortality rate is devasting, the economic impact is jarring, and no one can pinpoint any date for its end. But new vaccines offer a glimmer of hope—but only if the country can settle discussions about achieving adequate vaccination coverage and strategies to distribute and inoculate hundreds of millions of people.

ANA Launches Nurse-Specific COVID-19 Vaccine Campaign

Nurses are a trusted resource for patient education and offer clarity during a crisis, whether it’s a cancer diagnosis or global pandemic. However, in a survey from the American Nurses Association (ANA), 30% of nurses said they have not received a COVID-19 vaccine, and a quarter of that percentage was still undecided about getting vaccinated. The two main reported reasons were fear of short- and long-term side effects (66%) and lack of information about the vaccines (50%). ANA’s new campaign educates nurses about those concerns.

U.S. Reps Introduce Bill to Support Frontline Workers and Families

More nurses are diagnosed with the COVID-19 coronavirus than healthcare providers in any other discipline. Despite that sober statistic, very few congressional committees’ COVID-19 legislation proposals support essential workers like nurses. U.S. Representatives Jackie Speier (D-CA) and Joe Neguse (D-CO) introduced a bill to address those concerns.

Cancer health disparities

Biden’s American Rescue Plan Targets Social Determinants of Health and Other Disparities

The Biden administration’s American Rescue Plan (APR) is the largest, single piece of legislation focused on economics since Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed in his New Deal programs to pull the United States out of the Great Depression. Sweeping in scope, two of APR’s goals are to make health care accessible for all and to create formal plans for addressing racial disparities.

Cancer health disparities

U.S. Rep. Underwood, RN, Introduces Climate and Health Protection Act

Climate change was a core issue throughout the Biden-Harris campaign trail, and many advocacy groups are clamoring for the new administration to keep its promises. Recognizing the link between environmental concerns and health care, U.S. Representative Lauren Underwood (D-IL) introduced a bill that addresses both topics.

Access to cancer care

ONS Supports Palliative Care, Access to Care in Latest Health Policy Agenda

For its advocacy approach to the 117th U.S. Congress that convened in January, ONS increased its emphasis on palliative care and patient access, developing its 2021 health policy agenda to reflect the evolving healthcare legislation landscape.

Cancer moonshot

Did the Cancer Moonshot Initiative Make 10 Years of Cancer Research Progress in 5 Years?

When the Obama administration announced the National Cancer Moonshot in January 2016, its goal was to invest $1 billion in cancer research to make a decade’s worth of discoveries in just five years. The funding was distributed across the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Department of Defense, and Department of Veterans Affairs to propel the Moonshot forward.

Patient advocacy

HHS Releases National Strategic Plan to End HIV Epidemic

The two most recent administrations prioritized ending the HIV epidemic, which has claimed the lives of more than 700,000 Americans since the virus was first identified in the 1980s. To follow those initial efforts, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a strategic roadmap to end the HIV epidemic and reduce new HIV infections by 90% by 2030.

Cancer healthcare advocacy

First Lady Jill Biden Celebrates World Cancer Day

In honor of World Cancer Day on February 4, 2021, First Lady Jill Biden, EdD, took a virtual tour of the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH's) National Cancer Institute (NCI) and met with NIH Director Francis Collins, MD, PhD, and NCI Director Ned Sharpless, MD, to discuss advancements in cancer research, the steady decline in cancer mortality, and cancer-related legislation, among other topics.

U.S. Rep. Underwood, RN, Highlights Health Priorities in Open Letter to Biden

After a contentious election season, U.S. Representative Lauren A. Underwood, RN, (D-IL) returned to Capitol Hill as a new subcommittee chair and the same drive to push forward on healthcare issues, most recently with an open letter to President Joe Biden.

Cancer health disparities

Biden Addresses Health Care and Racial Disparities in Series of Executive Orders

Since taking office, President Joe Biden has made good on his campaign promises to change federal tone and action in response to Americans’ concerns about health care and racial equity. On January 28, 2021, Biden signed an executive order (EO) extending the timeline for more Americans to apply for and receive access to the Affordable Care Act, reiterating his commitment to the law known as Obamacare. Biden also signed an EO supporting women’s health by reinstating Title X protections.

Cancer screening

CDC Campaign Fights Declining Cancer Screening Rates

Nearly 1.9 million people in the United States will be diagnosed with cancer in 2021. However, overall cancer screenings dropped roughly 80% in 2020 because of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic and statewide stay-at-home orders. To combat the decline, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) new outreach campaign reminds patients and providers of the importance of cancer screening.

Nurses Help NIH Clinical Center Kick Off COVID-19 Vaccinations

Is anyone a better champion of the importance of vaccines to combat the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic than a nurse? The National Institutes of Health (NIH) doesn’t think so. During a late-December videocast at the NIH Clinical Center, prominent healthcare leaders, including nurses, received the Moderna vaccine to demonstrate that it is safe and effective and to encourage others to get inoculated.

February 25, 2021

Cancer healthcare advocacy

Biden Transition Team Appoints Health Experts to Lead Various Agencies

President Joe Biden made several campaign promises to improve or safeguard health care for all Americans with a focus on scientific and medical evidence. Shortly after the transfer of power, the Biden administration appointed and nominated public health experts to lead the various federal agencies dedicated to safety and biomedical research.

February 24, 2021

COVID-19 Immunity Lasts Multiple Months, NIH Study Shows

Healthcare providers are one of the most at-risk populations for contracting the COVID-19 coronavirus. However, a 2020 study of healthcare workers found that acquired immunity from an initial COVID-19 infection offers protection against reinfection for at least six months or asymptomatic infection in the rare instances where someone subsequently tested positive within six months of acquiring immunity.

February 23, 2021

Cancer risk prevention

FDA Campaign Targets Youth Tobacco Use With Classroom Education

What’s the real cost of youth vaping? In a campaign to combat the ongoing epidemic, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Scholastic, which publishes classroom magazines with accompanying teacher guides, provided e-cigarette education materials for middle and high school students to teach young Americans about the risks of e-cigarette use and nicotine addiction.

February 22, 2021

Access to cancer care

CMS Changes to Medicare Prescription Coverage Could Affect Patient Care

From Teddy Roosevelt to JFK, presidents throughout history have sent legislation to Capitol Hill with the intent to expand healthcare coverage to more Americans. Finally, when Lyndon B. Johnson drafted a bill and pushed it through Congress by expanding sections of the Social Security Act, Medicare become an entitlement and is now implemented by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). During the past 50 years, federal health coverage has grown to include Medicaid, maternal and childcare assistance, public health programs, and prescription medication pricing.

February 18, 2021

Cancer health policy

Coalitions Cement Nursing’s—and ONS’s—Position in Health Policy

Through two letters—one to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris and another to U.S. Senate and House leaders—the Nursing Community Coalition, on whose steering committee ONS sits, congratulated policymakers while outlining the need for continued support of nurses in health care.

February 18, 2021

Nurses Exemplify Pandemic Response and Preparedness Report

A nurse was the first U.S. citizen to receive the COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine. Biden also recently appointed a nurse to the COVID-19 advisory board. Clearly the country recognizes nurses’ consistent power and trustworthiness, and nurses can use that power to educate the public about the Biden administration’s tactics to get vaccines to the rest of the country and control the spread.

February 11, 2021

Patient advocacy

Lawmakers Push for Permanent Telehealth Services

In a rare moment of bicameral success, 49 U.S. House of Representatives and Senate members introduced legislation to make permanent the Medicare telehealth coverage that had been introduced as a temporary measure during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

February 10, 2021

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To discuss the information in this article with other oncology nurses, visit the ONS Communities.

To report a content error, inaccuracy, or typo, email pubONSVoice@ons.org.

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Alec Stone MA, MPA, ONS Public Affairs Director

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