Building the Evidence for Nursing Practice: Learning from a Structured Review of SIOP Abstracts, 2003-2012.

BACKGROUND: The focus of work submitted to an international conference can reflect the changing landscape of a specialty and prove important for identifying trends, uncovering gaps, and providing new directions for nurse-led research and clinical practice. We present an analysis of trends in presentations in the nursing program at the SIOP congress from 2003 to 2012 based on all accepted abstracts. PROCEDURE: A total of 462 abstracts were analyzed. A data extraction form was used to ensure consistency of data retrieved. Paired researchers were assigned 2 years of abstracts for assessment: approximately 80-100 abstracts each. Data were entered into REDCap data management software. RESULTS: Most abstracts came from presenters affiliated with institutions in Europe and North America with a noticeably significant under-representation from developing countries. There was an equal representation of papers focused on empirical research with family members and clinical practice focused on the professional role, although this varied in some years. Analysis of research methodology revealed a predominance of surveys, with a recent increase in qualitative and mixed method studies. Out of all abstracts only 18% were subsequently published. CONCLUSIONS: Gaps have been identified, such as the limited involvement of nurses in developing countries, and lack of studies self-reporting from children. Much needs to be done to promote a greater diversity of research frameworks and more dynamic research designs. The small percentage of abstracts from nurses that are eventually published may hinder translation of the findings into clinical practice.

Health literacy: a pediatric nursing concern.

Health care stakeholders and experts have identified health literacy as a major public health issue. Inadequate health literacy has been associated with a myriad of untoward health outcomes, including higher rates of hospitalization and emergency room utilization, prolonged recovery periods from illnesses, and illness complications. Experts attribute the spiraling costs of health care to low health literacy as a causative factor. To date, health literacy initiatives have been directed toward addressing the concerns of the adult population. An introduction to the issue of health literacy and its relevance to the care of children, youth, and families is provided. Implications for practice, policy, and research are addressed.

A survey of language barriers from the perspective of pediatric oncologists, interpreters, and parents.

BACKGROUND: Oncologists in the US increasingly face the challenge of communicating with non-English speaking parents of children with cancer. This study explores this challenge from the perspectives of a sample of pediatric oncologists, interpreters, and Spanish-speaking parents of children with newly diagnosed leukemia. PROCEDURE: Thirty-seven oncologists and 17 professional language interpreters based at two non-profit pediatric hospitals in the US were surveyed on the topic of language barriers in pediatric care. Seventeen parents who communicated with their child's oncologist through an interpreter were also surveyed. RESULTS: All groups expressed considerable concern over the process of communicating across a language barrier. For oncologists, these concerns included the accuracy and completeness of interpretations, complexity of information, and loss of confidence and control over the communication process. For interpreters, they included complexity of information, information overload, and lack of clinician sensitivity toward the cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds of limited English proficiency (LEP) families. Parent concerns included difficulties comprehending information and anxiety over the possibility of missing out on important information. All groups provided multiple suggestions for improving communication across a language barrier. CONCLUSIONS: Oncologists, interpreters, and parents expressed considerable concern over the process of communicating across a language barrier. Some of these concerns could be minimized through efforts to boost interpreter accuracy and completeness, including the use of more simple, easy to understand language. Other issues, such as differences in culture and socioeconomic background, warrant consideration of the intercultural knowledge and skills of interpreters.

Online exclusive: functional integration of nursing research into a pediatric oncology cooperative group: finding common ground.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To provide a brief description of the historic role of nursing and nursing research in the culture of previous pediatric oncology cooperative groups and compare the research language used in cooperative groups with the language used in nursing research. DATA SOURCES: Published empirical, clinical, and methodologic reports. DATA SYNTHESIS: The culture and language of nursing research differ from those of medical research and the pediatric oncology cooperative group, the Children's Oncology Group (COG). Different approaches exist to integrate nursing research priorities into the priorities of COG, including freestanding protocols, companion protocols, and research objectives included in therapeutic protocols. CONCLUSIONS: Full integration of nursing research into COG is feasible but dependent on recognition of cultural and language differences among researchers. Integration will be demonstrated by the number of concepts and protocols contributed to or developed by active nurses in COG. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: Significant advances exist for nurses conducting research in COG. These research efforts are facilitated by a familiarity with the science language used by other disciplines in COG and an understanding of COG's research processes. Increased interdisciplinary scientific collaborations involving nurses in COG particularly benefit pediatric patients with cancer.