ABSTRACT
Neuropathic ulcers present a significant issue for patients with diabetes. Neuropathic ulcers reduce mobility and increase the risk for infection and other complications. Prevention of ulceration is a primary nursing goal in the care of patients with diabetes.
Subject(s)
Diabetes Complications/nursing , Diabetic Foot/nursing , Diabetic Foot/prevention & control , Diabetic Neuropathies/nursing , Diabetic Neuropathies/prevention & control , Nursing Care/standards , Practice Guidelines as Topic , Diabetic Foot/etiology , Diabetic Neuropathies/etiology , Education, Nursing, Continuing , Humans , Nursing Staff, Hospital/education , Risk FactorsABSTRACT
It is well established that the general public has varying interpretations of the term "risk" and the qualifiers associated with it, such as low, moderate, or high. What is less well known is how definition and application of this term impacts recruitment of individuals, particularly for biomedical and behavioral research designed to improve knowledge of and access to innovations in cancer genetics. This Commentary discusses the nomenclature used in bio-behavioral research and the potential for confusion due to divergent meanings of risk and its associated categorizations. We discuss both our experience with recruitment of familial cancer families for a study on perceptions of biobanking as well as lessons learned from published examples where divergent understanding of risk levels, genetic research processes, and interpretation of results between community members and researchers result in misunderstandings for both parties. Ultimately, a critical challenge remains to ensure that accurate and mutually relevant risk terms are used in recruiting research participants and providing genetic results. Achieving this goal requires that regulations, policy, education, and practice change in step with rapid discoveries in genetic research to reduce misinterpretations resulting from lack of common understanding and specificity in risk terminology.
Subject(s)
Biological Specimen Banks , Genetic Research , Health Communication/ethics , Neoplasms , Risk Assessment , Terminology as Topic , HumansABSTRACT
The focus of this study was to assess the feasibility and clinical implementation of a standardized assessment for chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) by registered nurses in patients undergoing neurotoxic chemotherapy. A total of 24 registered nurses from 4 different institutions were enrolled into the study. A pre- and posttest design was used to assess changes in nurses' attitudes, knowledge, and perceived skill in CIPN assessment. Using selected data collection instruments, nurses performed standardized assessments during the course of chemotherapy treatments. Patient-reported symptoms, vibratory sensation, deep-tendon reflexes, and touch were collected at three time points during chemotherapy treatment. Results indicated there was no statistically significant change in knowledge of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy from baseline to the end of the study. However, this finding may be due to poor internal consistency noted among the items of the Nurse Knowledge and Attitudes CIPN Assessment. Implementation of a standardized subjective and objective nursing assessment of CIPN was feasible with a total mean feasibility score of 3.76 (range 0-5) with each individual item scoring between 3.35 and 3.91. The intervention did improve pretest and posttest confidence in performing assessment for CIPN (p = .003).