Masters Theses

Date of Award

12-1988

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Nursing

Major

Nursing

Major Professor

Sandra P. Thomas

Committee Members

John Jozwiak, Margaret Pierce

Abstract

The goals of patient education should include more than just the giving of information. One must strive to provide patients with information that will enable them to achieve and maintain the highest level of wellness possible. The purpose of this study was to examine perceptions of oncology patients regarding the quantity, timing, and utility of information given to them.

The design of this study was a quantitative nonexperimental descriptive survey. The research was conducted during a six-week period at a local hospital in an outpatient oncology clinic at a metropolitan general hospital in the southeast United States. A probability sample of 40 was chosen from among clients at the clinic. The criteria for inclusion were: (1) age 18 or older, (2) ability to read and write, (3) diagnosis made for at least one month, and (4) treatment with chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or both.

A questionnaire was designed by the researcher. The questions were formulated to assess perceptions of oncology patients concerning their learning needs. Patients were questioned regarding how they coped with problems in the past, the educational information they received, their perception of the importance of the information, when they were taught by the nurse, and if they utilized other educational resources. When possible, the questions were related to the information they received from the nursing staff.

The results of this study showed that the majority of cancer patients think they receive enough information about their diagnosis and its treatment(s), although a sizable segment of patients had knowledge deficits. The findings showed that many patients believe it to be extremely important to have information about specific aspects of their disease and/or treatment(s). These same patients are also stat ing this important information was not given to them or they did not receive enough information. Information relating to support groups and other helpful resources received the lowest importance rating.

Written educational materials were deemed helpful by 87.5% of the subjects. Of the 40 subjects, 80% understood most everything or every thing, yet there was a significant percentage (20%) that either did not receive the information or understood little or nothing of what they read.

Most of the patients preferred the information be given at the same time interval after they were diagnosed, but 21.1% preferred that it be given either sooner or later than they received it. A total of 17.9% understood very little about the disease and 18% understood nothing or very little about the treatment(s).

Health professionals were shown to be what was defined as the best source of information. Females appeared to utilize educational materials as a learning resource more than males, and males ranked "others with cancer" higher than the females.

The results indicated that the focus should be on the patients and their assessment of their learning needs, not on the needs that the health professional views as being important. Nurses must assess the patient's ability to learn and develop the ability to understand how best to facilitate the learning process in individual patients.

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