ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Elevated temperature can be the first sign of infection; obtaining an accurate temperature in patients undergoing chemotherapy is critical. OBJECTIVES: This study sought to determine outpatients' temperature-monitoring knowledge and skills; whether an educational DVD could increase knowledge; and the level of agreement between a home thermometer and a calibrated hospital thermometer. METHODS: The intervention was an educational DVD. Patients completed a survey and were observed taking their temperature. Investigators rated whether the correct steps were taken and then obtained the temperature. The bias and precision of the patient's thermometer were determined. FINDINGS: Knowledge scores averaged 68%. Most participants correctly identified elevated temperatures for fever (91%); less than 50% correctly identified other signs of infection, and less than 25% correctly identified activities that could falsely elevate or depress temperature readings.
Subject(s)
Fever/diagnosis , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Monitoring, Physiologic/methods , Neoplasms/complications , Patient Education as Topic/methods , Thermometers , Adult , Ambulatory Care/methods , Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use , Body Temperature , Cancer Care Facilities , Female , Fever/etiology , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Neoplasms/diagnosis , Neoplasms/drug therapy , Outpatients/statistics & numerical data , Tennessee , Video RecordingABSTRACT
In 2010, the National Nursing Staff Development Organization Research Committee identified the need to delineate research priorities for nursing professional development (NPD). A Delphi study with 13 experts in NPD resulted in the identification of 24 priorities for the next 5 years. These priorities provide the future direction for NPD research and funding.
