Evidence-Based Practice Education for Nurses Caring for Oncology Patients with Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy: A Quality improvement Project.

BACKGROUND: Nurses are one of the primary sources of information for patients during their healthcare journey. Patient education can mean the difference between a positive and negative outcome. Oncology patients undergoing chemotherapy are an especially vulnerable population and education and preparation for potential side-effects related to chemotherapy is important. There are several ways to control chemotherapy-induced side effects (CISE). One of the debilitating side effects can be chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN). While difficult to manage, the support of nursing staff to encourage patients to take an active role in their care could help decrease the risk of CIPN and improve quality of life.

LOCAL PROBLEM: The setting of this quality improvement project was a hospital outpatient oncology clinic located in the southeastern United States. The purpose of the quality improvement project was to improve chemotherapy patient education concerning neurological effects of chemotherapy and effective ways to manage the symptoms with a specific focus on the use of self-administered cryotherapy (SAC) while receiving taxane-based chemotherapy as a treatment option for CIPN.

METHODS: The Iowa Model of Evidence-Based Practice to Promote Quality Care was used for this project. Using PDSA (plan-do-study-act) cycles, a pre-and post-survey was created and provided to nursing staff to measure their knowledge before education was implemented and knowledge gained after education was complete.

INTERVENTIONS: Evidence-based education was provided to 15 clinic chemotherapy- certified nursing staff through an oral and printed presentations. Patient scenarios were shared to demonstrate practicality of the nursing role during a patient’s SAC journey.

RESULTS: Nearly all participants gained some level of knowledge about CIPN. Most nurses expressed incorporating the knowledge into their practice. Survey questions were not identical between pre-and-post surveys prohibiting the collection of a p value.

CONCLUSIONS: Optimizing patient education begins with assuring that nurses have the knowledge when caring for specific patients.