Papadopoulou, C., Sime, C., Rooney, K. and Kotronoulas, G. (2019) Sexual health care provision in cancer nursing care: a systematic review on the state of evidence and deriving international competencies chart for cancer nurses. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 100, 103405. (doi: 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2019.103405)
|
Text
195857.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives. 1MB |
Abstract
Background: Sexual health care should be an integral part of holistic, person-centred care for patients with cancer. Nurses can have a pivotal role, but nurse-led care in this context has been historically challenging. Objectives: To update the state of scientific knowledge pertinent to nurses’ competencies in delivering sexual health care to patients with cancer; better understand moderating factors; and evaluate interventions developed/tested to enhance nurses’ competencies. Design: Systematic literature review in line with published PRISMA Statement guidelines. Data sources: Electronic bibliographic databases; journal content lists; reference lists of included studies; author/expert contact. Review methods: Nine electronic databases were searched (June 2008-October 2018) to identify studies employing diverse research methods. We applied pre-specified eligibility criteria to all retrieved records and integrated findings in a narrative synthesis. Results: Of 2,614 returned articles, we included 31 unique studies. Five articles reported on two randomised controlled trials and three single-arm, before-and-after trials. Current evidence suggests that nurses’ knowledge and skill in providing sexual health care still varies widely across different settings, phases and cancers. A plethora of intra-personal, inter-personal, societal and organisational factors may hinder nurse-led care in this context. Nurses’ perceived professional confidence was repeatedly examined as influencing provision of care in this context; unfortunately, it was found lacking and complicated by unhelpful views and beliefs about SHC. Despite the magnitude of the problem, the few trials that tested, sexual health-targeted continuing professional development programmes for nurses, were of low-to-moderate methodological quality, while the associated high risk of methodological bias downgraded the evidence on the interventions’ effectiveness. Conclusion: Our systematic review replicates previous findings and highlights a continuing problem: nurse-led provision of sexual health care in cancer care remains sub-optimal and challenging, due mainly to nurses’ assumptions and prejudices towards sexuality, lack of professional confidence in dealing with sensitive issues, and a complex health care system environment. To realistically deal with this problem, we propose a flexible, two-level chart to promote development of basic competence among all nurses caring for patients with cancer (entry-level), and facilitate subsequent transition to a more specialised, self-pursued role for a subset of nurses (champion-level). The chart itself can be relevant to an international audience, while it might be transferable to other long-term conditions. Accordingly, we propose additional rigorous research to test multi-component educational programmes, customised to meet entry-level and champion-level requirements to realise continuous nursing provision of sexual health care in cancer care.
| Item Type: | Articles |
|---|---|
| Additional Information: | This work was supported by the Burdett Trust for Nursing [Ref: SB\ZA101010662\270843]. |
| Status: | Published |
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: | Kotronoulas, Dr Greg |
| Authors: | Papadopoulou, C., Sime, C., Rooney, K., and Kotronoulas, G. |
| College/School: | College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Medicine, Dentistry & Nursing > Nursing and Health Care |
| Journal Name: | International Journal of Nursing Studies |
| Publisher: | Elsevier |
| ISSN: | 0020-7489 |
| ISSN (Online): | 1873-491X |
| Published Online: | 26 August 2019 |
| Copyright Holders: | Copyright © 2019 Crown Copyright |
| First Published: | First published in International Journal of Nursing Studies 100:103405 |
| Publisher Policy: | Reproduced under a Creative Commons License |
University Staff: Request a correction | Enlighten Editors: Update this record
Altmetric
Altmetric