Effectiveness of a Nursing Intervention Protocol for Chemotherapy Induced Neutropenia Nurses and Patients Related Outcome
Introduction: Chemotherapy induced neutropenia (CIN) is a significant problem among cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. CIN is causing serious complications in approximately 80% of patients. There is a pressing need to design evidence based nursing protocols to provide safe and effective care for patients with neutropenia. Methods: The aim of present study has three folds. First was the assessment of nurses' knowledge and practices for management of CIN patients; the second was the development of an evidence based nursing intervention protocol according to most recent strong evidences of neutropenia management and the nurses' educational needs; and finally applying the developed protocol and thereafter evaluating its impact on nurses, as well as patients' knowledge and practice. A Quasiexperimental research design was utilized in this study. A convenient sample of 30 oncology nurses, as well as thirty patients was recruited from Oncology Department of Assiut University Hospital. Tools: data collection instruments included; nurses CIN knowledge test; neutropenia guideline observation checklist for evaluating nurses' practice compliance with designed protocols; patients' CIN test; and checklist to assess patient's' practices related to oral care and hand washing. Results: Mean scores for nurses' and patients' post protocol knowledge as well as practice level were significantly higher than the pre protocol scores. A positive significant correlation between total knowledge and practice scores was observed. Conclusion: Designing and implementing evidence based nursing intervention protocol is important for improvement of nurses' knowledge and practice and enhancement of patients' outcomes. Providing patients and their families with the necessary knowledge and practice through implementation of educational programs is a must to equip them with the necessary skills for prevention and management of problems related to alteration in protective mechanisms.