Assessment of Clinical Oncology Nurses’ Recognition and Management of Cancer-Induced Fatigue in Patients: A Questionnaire-Based Study
Keywords:
Tumor, Nurse, Cancer-related fatigue, Management, Symptom managementAbstract
Objective: To investigate the status of clinical oncology nurses’ identification and management of cancer-induced fatigue in cancer patients. Methods: A total of 231 clinical oncology nurses in a hospital were surveyed using a self-compiled questionnaire for the identification and management of cancer-related fatigue. The recognition, management, and influencing factors of cancer-related fatigue were analyzed using percentage calculations and single-factor and multi-factor analyses. Results: Clinical oncology nurses demonstrated poor recognition of cancer-induced fatigue. The identification accuracy, ranked from highest to lowest, was as follows: influence of cancer fatigue (98.27%), risk factors (97.84%), clinical manifestations (97.40%), characteristics (94.37%), incidence (89.18%), mitigation measures (61.90%), progression (54.11%), evaluation indexes (16.88%), and diagnostic criteria (8.23%). Management was similarly inadequate, with an average implementation rate of 68.01%, falling short of guideline recommendations. Age and years of experience were identified as influencing factors. Conclusions: The identification and management of cancer-related fatigue by clinical oncology nurses require improvement. Hospital administrators should actively respond to guideline recommendations by enhancing the construction of cancer fatigue management systems and emphasizing theoretical and practical education on cancer fatigue for nurses. These measures would facilitate improved patient care and quality of life.
References
International Agency for Research on Cancer, World Health Organization, 2024, Featured News. https://www.iarc.who.int/featured-news
Zhang J, Qian J, 2021, Clinical Practice Guidelines for Cancer-Related Fatigue in China (2021 Edition). Chinese Journal of Cancer, 2021(9): 852–872.
Roila F, Fumi G, Ruggeri B, et al., 2019, Prevalence, Characteristics, and Treatment of Fatigue in Oncological Cancer Patients in Italy: A Cross-Sectional Study of the Italian Network for Supportive Care in Cancer (NICSO). Support Care Cancer, 27(3): 1041–1047. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-018-4393-9
Fabi A, Bhargava R, Fatigoni S, et al., 2020, Cancer-Related Fatigue: ESMO Clinical Practice Guidelines for Diagnosis and Treatment. Ann Oncol, 31(6): 713–723. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annonc.2020.02.016
Portenoy RK, Itri LM, 1999, Cancer-Related Fatigue: Guidelines for Evaluation and Management. Oncologist, 4(1): 1–10.
Tian L, Li HL, Tao M, et al., 2017, Study on the Construction of Clinical Nursing Guidelines for Cancer-Related Fatigue in Adults. Nursing Research, 2017(13): 1564–1568.
Dong L, Zhang A, Ye X, et al., 2017, Investigation on Knowledge and Attitude of Nurses to Cancer-Related Fatigue. Journal of Postgraduate Medical Science, 2017(8): 858–861.
Chen W, Zhao H, Kong D, et al., 2019, Summary of Evidence for Screening and Evaluation of Cancer-Related Fatigue in Adult Cancer Patients. Journal of Nursing, 2019(14): 20–25.
Yu A, Guo R, 2021, Investigation and Analysis of the Status Quo of Cognition of Cancer-Related Fatigue in Nurses. Basic Oncology and Clinic, 2021(3): 268–269.
Zhang H, Tong Q, Yang L, 2021, Investigation of Cognition and Nursing Behavior of Gynecological Tumor Nurses on Cancer-Induced Fatigue. General Nursing, 2021(4): 537–539.
Liu H, 2012, Investigation on Knowledge and Practice of Cancer-Related Fatigue Among Nurses in Oncology Department, dissertation, Zhejiang University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Zhou M, Li H, Zhang S, et al., 2019, Meta-Integration of Qualitative Studies on Real Experience of Cancer Related Fatigue in Cancer Patients. Journal of Nursing, 2019(12): 27–32.