Learning needs of cancer patients: a comparison of nurse and patient perceptions

The purposes of this study were to discover and compare patients' and nurses' perceptions of the learning needs of cancer patients. Using rating scales, 33 nurses and 27 patients rated the degree of importance of learning 36 informational items, including nutrition, treatment, and diagnostic testing. In addition, nurses and patients ranked six content areas according to: how problematic each area was for the patient; how much knowledge the patient had about each area; and how much the patient wanted information about each area. Results indicated that significant differences existed between nurses' and patients' perceptions of the learning needs of cancer patients. Nurses rated the degree of importance of the 20 general information items significantly higher than did the patients. The rank order of the six content areas for each of three questions by nurses and patients showed nurses ranked dealing with feelings as the most problematic area for patients, while patients ranked this area low.