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Biomedical subjects

N Kearney

Publications and source records attributed to N Kearney.

27 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2000

Oncology healthcare professionals' attitudes toward elderly people.

BACKGROUND: Healthcare professionals are known to be particularly susceptible to ageist stereotyping because of increased exposure to elderly and infirm individuals. Demographic changes resulting in increasing numbers of elderly people and increased cancer incidence with age make it imperative to understand oncology healthcare professionals' attitudes towards older people. DESIGN: A descriptive survey design was conducted, within a regional Cancer Centre, to evaluate oncology healthcare professionals' attitudes towards elderly people. The measurement scale used was Kogan's Old People Scale. RESULTS: Regardless of gender, profession and clinical experience persistently negative attitudes were displayed towards elderly people. No statistically significant difference was detected between gender, profession, clinical experience or specialist education and although small in number, no large differences in scores were notable between group means. CONCLUSIONS: If oncology healthcare professionals are to provide optimal treatment and care for elderly people, negative attitudes must be addressed. These results indicate the need for a radical cultural shift in attitudes, especially when considered in conjunction with changing demographics and increased cancer incidence with age.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Collaboration in cancer nursing practice.

Although nursing represents around half of Europe's healthcare budgets, its impact is seldom evaluated. However, given the current era of cost-containment, nursing must prove the value of its clinical effectiveness. Through European collaboration, the WISECARE project is working towards identifying the unique contribution of cancer nursing. This paper will explain the rationale and goals of the WISECARE project and demonstrate the collaborative processes involved within such a project. The latest results of the project will be presented to prove the value of collaboration in ensuring the development of European standards of nursing care.

Clinical Competence↗
PubMed2000

Herceptin: implications for breast cancer management.

It appears that no further significant improvements in the survival of women with metastatic breast cancer are likely to result from the use of traditional chemotherapeutic agents. Research attempting to identify novel agents has focused on biological therapies, which can be used to target specific abnormalities in cancer cells. Human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) is a cell membrane receptor with growth-regulating activity. Studies indicate that the 25-30% of women with breast cancer who overexpress HER2 have aggressive disease and a worse prognosis than those who do not overexpress HER2. Herceptin targets HER2 and is the first humanized monoclonal antibody approved for therapeutic use. Clinical trials have demonstrated that Herceptin is well tolerated, produces durable objective responses and improves survival in women with metastatic breast cancer. Its side-effects are generally mild to moderate and differ from those of traditional cytotoxic agents. Cardiotoxicity, the most significant adverse effect of Herceptin, is manageable in most patients using standard therapy. The likely positioning of Herceptin in the treatment of HER2-overexpressing metastatic breast cancer is in combination with paclitaxel as first-line therapy and as second- or third-line therapy when administered alone. It is likely that the exploitation of HER2 as a target for therapy and the development of Herceptin will serve as a model for the development of future biological therapies.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2000

The development of a conceptual framework for advancing cancer nursing practice in Europe.

Continued professional development through formal education programmes is essential for improving the quality of care provided to patients with cancer. This paper describes a European Oncology Nursing Society project concerned with advanced cancer nursing education. While the development of an education programme for advanced cancer nursing practice in Europe proves difficult at this time, this project has provided the opportunity to examine some of the key elements of advanced cancer nursing work. In turn, the information gained has enabled the development of a conceptual framework for advancing cancer nursing practice in Europe to be constructed.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2000

Measurement of cancer attitudes: a review.

Many psychologists maintain that the attitudes we hold about a particular topic or subject will influence the way in which we behave towards it: positive attitudes lead to positive behaviours and vice versa. A literature search was conducted using the databases of MEDLINE and CINAHL. This produced research-based evidence showing that despite treatment advances, cancer remains one of the most feared of all diseases, not only among the public but also among oncology health-care professionals. However, the practice of measuring attitudes is fraught with difficulties. This review article will discuss the link between attitudes and behaviour and review pertinent literature regarding public and professional attitudes towards cancer before critically analysing the most common tools for evaluating cancer attitudes and making recommendations for the future of attitude measurement.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2000

Multicentre research and the WISECARE experience. Workflow Information Systems for European Nursing Care.

The benefits of collaborative research are becoming recognized increasingly within the profession of nursing due to the associated increased likelihood of funding, variety of practice settings and increased access to resources that collaboration brings. While such benefits have made collaborative research one of the most desirable strategies for achieving the goals of research, the potential problems of language and communication, culturally sensitive instruments, access to subjects, availability of technology and lack of research resources have complicated collaborative international research initiatives. Review of the literature, although encouraging such initiatives, does little to provide information regarding the processes involved in multinational collaboration or the associated advantages and disadvantages to guide those embarking on such large scale, multinational, cross-cultural studies. The diverse meanings of collaboration within research initiatives further hamper this understanding. Positive definitions focus on aspects such as sharing expertise, making a valuable contribution to the research and ultimately shared ownership of the accomplishments of the research. One such research project led by nurses was the WISECARE project. WISECARE (Workflow Information Systems for European Nursing Care) was funded by the European Commission and aimed to improve cancer nursing practice and ultimately patient outcomes through the integration and utilization of state of the art information technology. Such a project was developed as a result of nursing's apparent invisibility within health care delivery and the problems experienced by nurses in articulating their worth within an increasingly cost-conscious health care system. Oncology care was selected as the domain for the project not only because this speciality of nursing already has an established network of nurses throughout Europe in the European Oncology Nursing Society (EONS) but also because the practice of cancer nursing encompasses all aspects of nursing care. This paper will address the advantages and disadvantages associated with collaboration, using the WISECARE project as an example.

Communication Barriers↗
PubMed1999

New strategies in the management of cancer.

The developing knowledge of cancer is paving the way for a new era of management of this disease. New scientific knowledge has enabled different and exciting modes of cancer therapy to be tested in the clinical setting. These innovations will lead to the availability of novel cytotoxic agents in the near future. In addition to such agents, the last few years has seen the emergence of new radiotherapy and surgical techniques that have the potential to radically change nursing practice. Such developments require a knowledgeable nursing workforce who can provide anticipatory care in tandem with supportive care strategies to facilitate optimal patient outcomes. This article considers potential future developments in cancer management and raises the issue of nursing being integral to the treatment process.

Humans↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A systematic review of worldwide cancer nursing research: 1994 to 2003.

The aim of this study was to assess the cancer nursing research papers published in the past decade; identify their characteristics in terms of country of origin, participants, settings, diagnostic foci, and methodologic choices; and evaluate their quality. A systematic review was carried out of all published papers in the Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature between the years 1994 and 2003, using the keywords "cancer," "nursing," and "research." A total of 619 papers met inclusion criteria and were evaluated by 5 researchers. Almost half the papers were derived from the United States (49.1%), followed by the UK, Sweden, Canada, and Australia. In more than half of the published papers (52.2%), health professionals (mostly nurses) were the studies' participants. Also, much of the published research used patients with mixed diagnosis, or patients with breast or hematologic cancers. Two-thirds of the studies were quantitative, whereas most studies were descriptive in nature. The quality of both quantitative and qualitative studies was low, with only a small percentage meeting the highest quality criteria. Studies reporting funding and those published in journals with an impact factor showed a higher quality score than those not reporting funding or not published in journals with an impact factor. Cancer nursing research is still in a developmental stage, although it has made a considerable contribution to the evidence base of the discipline. A number of issues need to be tackled before we improve our output, such as organizational or workforce issues, infrastructure support, funding, and methodologic challenges.

Humans↗