Effects of a sexual health care nursing record on the attitudes and practice of oncology nurses

Abstract

Background: A nursing record focused on sexual health care for patients with cancer could encourage oncology nurses to provide sexual health care for oncology patients in a simple and effective manner. However, existing electronic information systems focus on professional use and not sexual health care, which could lead to inefficiencies in clinical practice. Objective: To examine the effects of a sexual health care nursing record on the attitudes and practice of oncology nurses. Methods: Twenty-four full-time registered nurses caring for oncology patients were randomly assigned to the intervention and control groups in Korea. The researchers developed a sexual health care record and applied it to the intervention group for one month. Data were analyzed by Mann-Whitney U test and chi-square test. Content analysis was used to analyze interviews. Results: Oncology nurses using the sexual health care record had significantly higher levels of sexual health care practice at 4 weeks post-intervention as compared to those who provided usual care to patients with cancer. Conclusion: A sexual health care record may have the potential to facilitate oncology nurses' practice of sexual health care. This study highlighted the importance of using SHC records with oncology patients to improve nursing practice related to sexuality issues. A nursing record focused on SHC for patients with cancer could make it easier and more effective for oncology nurses to provide such care to their patients. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.