Incorporating supportive care into routine cancer care: the benefits and challenges to clinicians' practice.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To investigate clinicians' experiences with supportive care screening and referral, and identify perceived barriers and benefits associated with implementation into the clinical setting.

DESIGN

Qualitative, exploratory approach based on interviews.

SETTING

A large regional hospital in Victoria, Australia, that provides chemotherapy and radiotherapy services to patients with cancer.

SAMPLE

5 chemotherapy nurses and 1 radiation therapist.

METHODS

Semistructured interviews were conducted, documented, and analyzed with qualitative techniques.

MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES

Clinical benefits of supportive care screening and referral, and barriers to clinical implementation.

FINDINGS

Clinicians perceived that supportive care screening benefited their practice by improving communication and rapport with patients. Clinicians supported each other during screening implementation, and although they initially were hesitant about the process, they ultimately endorsed screening for wider implementation. Time constraints and scope of practice were identified as significant barriers.

CONCLUSIONS

Supportive care screening was endorsed as part of future clinical practice, but barriers to implementation need to be addressed.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING

With current psychosocial guidelines recommending routine supportive care screening of patients with cancer and statewide mandatory screening targets set in Australia, healthcare organizations need to carefully consider implementation processes. Although nurses are ideally placed to complete screening, organizations need to ensure that appropriate training and support mechanisms have been developed, as well as adequate resources, to enable integration into routine practice.