Aim: Survivorship care plans (SCPs) are recommended as a tool for the care of cancer survivors. SCPs have been implemented with a multidisciplinary approach; however, the specific role of nurses in the SCP is unknown. Our aim is to determine the role of nurses and their degree of participation in cancer SCPs. Design:Integrative review of the literature with systematic methodology. Data sources: PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Cochrane and Cancerlit databases were reviewed. Articles published up to March 2021 were included.Review method: Of the 2,638 publications identified, 22 studies met our inclusion criteria. Quality of included studies was assessed using Joanna Briggs Institute quality assessment tools. Results:The studies showed that nurses play a key role and participate in different phases of the SCP, including design, delivery, monitoring and coordination among different levels of care, with varying degrees of involvement and responsibility; design and delivery of the SCP are the phases with the highest nurse participation (18 out of 22 studies). The majority of SCPs are implemented in specialized, hospital-based care and focus on short-term cancer survivors, who are actively undergoing oncological treatments. Conclusion:This review shows that nurses actively participate in the design, implementation and coordination of SCPs. However, SCPs focus on the acute survival and treatment phases, and there is a gap in their use in long-term cancer survivorship. This gap may be one reason the needs of long-term cancer survivors are not covered.Impact: This review contributes to the current body of knowledge by addressing the role of nurses in cancer SCPs. We recommend the involvement of an advanced practice nurse as SCP coordinator to improve communication between cancer specialists and primary care providers and to promote continued care throughout the different phases of cancer survivorship, including long-term survival.
Cancer survivor Nursing intervention Quality of life Satisfaction with care Survivorship Systematic review Background: Cancer survivors (CSs) have needs that can negatively impact their quality of life (QoL). Oncology nurses play a key role in providing comprehensive care in cancer survivorship, although little is known about their impact on health outcomes. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of nursing interventions to improve QoL and satisfaction with care of CSs. Methods: A systematic review was conducted. PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Cochrane databases were searched for experimental studies. The Joanna Briggs Institute Checklist for Randomized Controlled Trials was used to verify the quality of the studies (Prospero reference: CRD42020148294). Results: Of the 8 clinical trials eligible for inclusion, 5 demonstrated that interventions conducted by nurses improved the overall QoL or some of its domains in CSs. The included studies focused on short-term survival; no studies in long-term CSs were identified. Two studies assessed satisfaction with care of survivors, obtaining positive results. Conclusions: Nursing interventions seem to improve the QoL of short-term CSs. However, because of the low number of studies identified, the findings of this systematic review should be interpreted with caution. Implications for practice: Further studies are necessary to strengthen the implementation of effective nursing intervention in cancer practice.
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