Many patients with cancer experience sleep disturbances, including insomnia, that can persist for years if not appropriately managed. The resulting increased risk for infections, anxiety, and depression can take a toll on patients’ quality of life.

Pharmacologic treatments for insomnia may contribute to adverse effects such as performance problems, memory disturbance, falls, and driving accidents, leading many patients to seek alternative or complementary therapies.

On September 14, 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved new labeling for temozolomide (Temodar^®) under Project Renewal, an Oncology Center of Excellence (OCE) initiative that updates labeling information for older oncology drugs to ensure it is clinically meaningful and scientifically current. This is the second drug—both anticancer agents—to receive a labeling update under the pilot program. The first was for capecitabine (Xeloda^®).

A multimodal nursing education intervention using ONS resources, didactic teaching, and small group discussions grew one institution’s advance care planning (ACP) documentation rates from 0% to 63%, according to a report published in the February 2023 issue of the Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing. Nurse participants also reported increases in ACP discussions and a clinically significant improvement in their overall comfort level with ACP conversations.

In your day-to-day conversations with patients, colleagues, or even friends and family at home, are you merely hearing what others tell you or are you actively listening to them? When we actively listen to what someone is saying, we intreat curiosity about their words and the emotions they are communicating with their tone and body language. Active listening engages a whole-person connection, whereas passive listening relies on the brain’s ability to catch the main points of a conversation.

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy updated policy guidance in August 2022 to allow the average American easier access to publications. The new guidance applies to taxpayer-funded research studies and makes the results publicly available for free.

As a term, sexuality is linked to sexual functioning—the ability to engage in sexual behaviors and the body’s physiologic response—as well as sexual reproduction and fertility. But those biologic aspects are just a small part of a person’s overall sexuality. Sexual health is a state of physical, emotional, mental, and social well-being and requires a positive and respectful approach to sexuality and sexual relationships.

Regular, light-intensity exercise and activity has been shown to reduce the risks of fractures, heart disease, and death. Substantial evidence also indicated benefits for cancer-related outcomes, including fatigue, depression, and quality of life. Additional observational data suggested that sustained physical activity may help reduce cancer recurrence and improve overall survival.

President Joe Biden released the National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan in March 2022, enabling the United States to move forward with goals to protect against and treat COVID-19, prepare for new variants, prevent economic and educational shutdowns, and expand vaccinations.

Does hearing a certain song suddenly energize you or make the day seem brighter? There’s a reason for that. Music can have a powerful effect on our well-being and is a tool nurses can use to help take care of their mental health.

As a clinical nurse specialist (CNS) with a cardiovascular background, I have seen the evidence-based benefits of exercise in a variety of settings. However, several years ago, when I was working as a CNS on an acute inpatient oncology unit, I noticed that exercise was not regularly included in care plans. As I learned from staff, this was done out of concern that patients needed to rest to save their energy. 

We have an approximately 14- to 17-year gap between the inception of research discovery and the implementation of findings into clinical practice. As a profession, nurses have a shared responsibility to address the challenge of identifying and overcoming barriers to evidence-based practice (EBP) implementation to provide the best possible clinical care for patients. My primary area of focus as a researcher is on using EBP to improve patient, staff, and organizational outcomes through the Science and Practice Aligned Within Nursing (SPAWN) model, a framework for applying EBP to clinical nursing care.

As Americans reduce tobacco use and treatment and diagnosis advance, lung cancer survivorship rates are improving; however, it still remains the second most common type of cancer. The growing population needs appropriate survivorship care.

Dance/movement therapy is a complementary modality that may help patients manage cancer and its treatment-associated symptoms. Based on the concept that mind, body, and spirit are interconnected, it combines the communicative elements of dance and movement with other body-focused activities—such as guided imagery, mindfulness, breath awareness, and play—to create an emotionally inviting environment where participants can share feelings and experiences. 

Guidelines give oncology nurses an evidence-based, standardized approach to cancer care. But guidelines are most effective used when they’re used as a regular part of practice—a process referred to as implementation. 
With several oncology societies releasing new guidelines in 2020 and 2021, including ONS and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the implementation process requires nurse managers and leaders to facilitate staff education, maintain a high quality of care, and answer the all-important question: “Why are we doing this?”

Oncology nurses hold a unique position in improving symptom management and health outcomes in people with cancer, and their contributions to the body of symptom science are critical. In support of that work, ONS embarked on a landmark partnership with the National Institute of Nursing Research and National Cancer Institute's Center for Cancer Research to present the inaugural Colloquium on Symptom Science Advances in Oncology Nursing on February 4–5, 2021.

When they launched in 2020, oncology nurses recognized the first five ONS Guidelines™ for cancer treatment-related symptoms and adverse events as the evidence-based standard for patient care. Now, the ECRI Guidelines Trust, a national evaluation organization, has given them that distinction as well, including all of ONS’s current guidelines in its repository.

Imagery is a mind-body practice with deep historical roots. It uses imagination to recreate mental images, sounds, smells and even tastes to help achieve relaxation and to promote healing. Guided imagery can be learned in an interactive manner from a licensed practitioner or from books and self-help tapes. Repeating the practice results in a conditioning effect that can empower the individual to use it whenever needed.

When a patient comes to the doctor’s office with a generalized symptom such as an ongoing cough or chest heaviness, they are bound to have anxiety. In Wayne’s case, a patient with a lung mass that was identified unexpectedly, his anxiety was further compounded by feeling alone: his wife has dementia and his grown children live out of state. He also lives in a rural area and must drive a significant distance to get to a center for testing and diagnosis.

Clostridium difficile infection is a dangerous and sometimes deadly adverse event in immunocompromised patients with cancer. Although transmission risk is high in the hospital setting, even with isolation precautions, oncology providers can use a variety of prevention techniques to reduce the chance for infection in their patients.

As of July 16, 2018, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ceased maintenance on guideline.gov, the website that housed the National Guideline Clearinghouse. The website had been a resource for healthcare providers for more than 20 years.

Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) are associated with significant morbidity and mortality, with an estimated 93,300 urinary tract infections (UTIs) and 13,000 UTI-related deaths occurring each year in acute care hospitals. A preventable cause of UTIs is the use of long-term indwelling urinary catheters, an ideal focus of evidence-based practice initiatives.

One of the most important but often challenging steps in the evidence-based practice (EBP) process is ensuring that the change we wanted to happen actually occurred. After a practice change has been implemented, it’s important to ask if the expected outcome was achieved. Patient-related outcomes can be psychosocial (change in symptoms such as depression or anxiety), physiologic (reduction in catheter-associated urinary tract infections), or functional (increased exercise or mobility). Outcomes can also be process related, such as reduced readmissions or more efficient discharge planning.  

Nursing is often referred to as both an art and a science. Evidence-based practitioners must combine understanding the science of health, illness, and disease with the art of adapting care to individual patients and situations, all while thinking critically to improve patient outcomes.

Changes in technology have brought about significant opportunities in how we identify and manage information. We have access to published research and clinical articles from thousands of journals to answer clinical questions. Finding the right information can be challenging, but building your skills in searching for evidence and synthesizing evidence is critical to becoming an evidence-based practice expert. Here’s how to proceed.

That “science, informatics, incentives, and culture are aligned for continuous improvement and innovation” in care delivery through evidence-based practice (EBP) that uses research outcomes, clinical expert perspectives, and patient and family engagement, the National Academy of Medicine Roundtable on Value and Science-Driven Health Care project charter visualizes. By 2020, the goal is to ensure that 90% of clinical decisions are individualized yet supported by the most current, relevant, and best-available evidence and effective tools are in place to measure outcomes. 

Evidence-based practice (EBP) results from the integration of available research, clinical expertise, and patient preferences to individualize care and promote effective care decision-making. Oncology nurses are perfectly positioned to be adopters and promoters of EBP, resulting in practice change for improved quality and safety.

One distinct, uniquely personal symptom unifies almost all patients with cancer: pain. It can be as wildly varied and different as each patient it affects. It can be acute, sudden experiences of pain, or the symptoms can be chronic and perpetual. Patients undergoing the treatments associated with cancer often suffer varying degrees of pain through their cancer journeys, which leads to significant physical and psychosocial burdens. This can decrease their quality of life and potentially impact their overall outcomes. A 2015 National Comprehensive Cancer Network report suggested that the evidence suggests a clear link between improved survival outcomes and adequate symptom management.

As healthcare institutions become ever more complex and our focus on patient experience expands, nurses are leading and participating in research studies, evidence-based practice (EBP) projects, and quality improvement (QI) initiatives with a goal of improving patient outcomes. Research, EBP, and QI have subtle differences and frequent overlap, which can make it a challenge for nurses to identify the best option to investigating a clinical problem.

Implanted ports are an important lifeline for patients receiving antineoplastic treatments; however, despite vast nursing research on the maintenance and utilization of venous implanted ports, still so much remains to be learned. Many of the practices surrounding implanted ports remain controversial.

An ancient form of bodywork that encompasses hands-on manipulation of muscles and soft tissues, massage increases circulation, reduces muscular tension and promotes relaxation. It also produces emotional and psychological benefits.

On July 7, 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved L-glutamine oral powder for oral administration to reduce the acute complications of sickle cell disease in adult and pediatric patients five years and older.