Difficulty with cancer care and related factors among nurses at Tohoku University Hospital

ABSTRACT

The purposes of this study were to describe nurses’ difficulty with cancer care and explore factors related to the difficulty of cancer care. Self－reported questionnaires were distributed to 512 nurses who are engaged in cancer care at Tohoku University Hospital. Responses from 344 (67％) nurses were subjected to analysis. The results revealed that nurses felt that “communication” was the most difficult aspect of cancer nursing followed by “hospital system and regional alliances” and “knowledge and skill.” Nurses did not feel that “collaboration with doctors” “disclosure and explanation of disease” or “death and dying” had particularly high levels of difficulty, however, their levels of difficulty could be improved. Greater difficulty with cancer care was reported by nurses working on the general ward and nurses with limited cancer care experience in the last year. Communication skill training,education (especially for less experienced nurses), expansion of palliative care, and restructuring of discharge planning and regional collaboration systems might contribute to decreasing nurses’ difficulty with cancer care.