[Creating evidence for naturopathic nursing interventions in oncology - a systematic approach]

Area of Science:

• Integrative oncology nursing
• Evidence-based practice in nursing

Background:

• Nurses in oncology utilize numerous naturopathic interventions to manage patient symptoms and enhance quality of life.
• A significant gap exists in the scientific evidence supporting many of these widely used interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a standardized procedure for generating evidence on naturopathic nursing interventions in oncology.
• To create a foundation for evidence-based recommendations in nursing practice.

Main Methods:

• A four-year iterative process involving a working group (WG) on Integrative Nursing in Oncology.
• The procedure integrates expert panel experience in guideline development and quality instrument creation.

Main Results:

• A three-step systematic approach combining internal and external evidence was developed.
• Key steps include a scoping review, a consensus process with oncology nurses, and a supplementary literature review.
• The procedure was successfully applied to mucositis, insomnia, fatigue, hand-foot syndrome, and chemotherapy-induced polyneuropathy.

Conclusions:

• The developed procedure enables the generation of an evidence base for naturopathic nursing interventions in oncology.
• It facilitates the derivation of practice recommendations through a structured synthesis of evidence.
• This represents a successful theory-practice transfer, yielding recommendations classified between S1 and S2e guidelines (AWMF).