First Advisor

Kathleen Whalen

College

Rueckert-Hartman College for Health Professions

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Document Type

Thesis - Open Access

Abstract

Oncology patients are at an increased risk for complications after hospital discharge, which can lead to poor outcomes. To proactively manage oncology patient needs, a team of specialized oncology nurses implemented post-discharge phone calls. Using a descriptive design, with a convenience sample of 30 active treatment oncology patients, patients were called after hospital discharge using a semi-structured questionnaire tool focused on identification of patient needs and measurement of nursing care required to close gaps in care. The study found 73.3% of patients had a problem with symptom management, 56.7% with medication management, 33.3% with equipment or services, 70% with plan of care, and 23.3% with psychosocial needs. Nursing intervention was measured on a zero-to-four scale. Further use of Friedman’s rank test showed that plan of care related issues required more complex nursing intervention. The scale formulated by this pilot study demonstrates an effective way to measure nursing quality, which could be applied to a range of other nursing issues. The major limitation of the study was the sample size. However, findings from the study indicate specialized nursing care is essential to oncology patients after hospital discharge.

Date of Award

Spring 2021

Location (Creation)

Colorado (state); Denver (county); Denver (inhabited place)

Rights Statement

All content in this Collection is owned by and subject to the exclusive control of Regis University and the authors of the materials. It is available only for research purposes and may not be used in violation of copyright laws or for unlawful purposes. The materials may not be downloaded in whole or in part without permission of the copyright holder or as otherwise authorized in the “fair use” standards of the U.S. copyright laws and regulations.

Download

Share

COinS