A survey of self-care and dependent-care advice given by pediatric oncology nurses

This article reports a survey of the current practices of pediatric oncology nurses in advising patients and families about symptom reporting and self-care interventions. A questionnaire was mailed to 1000 pediatric oncology nurses requesting information about age, years of experience in nursing and pediatric oncology nursing, current work setting, and professional position. Recipients were asked about their practices for advising patients and their families about self-care measures and reporting of adverse symptoms. Analysis of 135 valid responses showed evidence of both consensus and variability in nursing practice, with variability being partly attributable to differences in nurses'work settings (inpatient vs. outpatient) and differences in experience level. There was good consensus on nurses' recommending of several self-care interventions for eight common adverse symptoms and for advice that patients should promptly report to health providers certain symptoms or events.