A Federal Government Experience: Developing a Nutrition Education Publication for Cancer Patients

Abstract

LEARNING OUTCOME: To identify the key nutritional information needs of cancer patients and their families as perceived by health professionals who work closely with this target audience.In preparation for the revision of an existing National Cancer Institute publication, a needs assessment questionnaire was developed and administered via a 30-minute phone interview to Registered Nurses (RN), N=17 and Registered Dietitians (RD), N=20 to determine their perceptions of cancer patients’ nutritional needs. Subjects from a variety of settings who had recently ordered >50 copies of this publication were contacted Chi square tests were run to compare whether there were differences in responses of RN's and RD's. Professional opinions of patient needs were similar with the exception of perceived importance of providing general cancer prevention guidelines. RN's preferred using guidelines, such as maintaining a reduced fat intake, while RD's did not (p<0.01). For both RN's and RD's, 73% indicated their patients usually requested nutrition information, however; 54% indicated that recipes were never requested. Respondents were also asked to rank patient needs for information as either very important (VI) or not important (NI). Results of this ranking indicated that the most important areas to include when revising this publication are: tips on dealing with psychological issues for family members (95% VI); information tailored for the patient (86% VI); and nutrition resources (78% VI). The least important areas are: special diet information (35% NI); recipes (27% NI) and an inclusive list of all eating problems experienced by patients during treatment (24% NI). Gaps in the current publication include: absence of scientific statements on using alternative nutrition therapies and dealing with psychosocial family issues. It was also suggested that a publication be made available in the Spanish language. As part of comprehensive planning in understanding the needs of the population for whom this publication is intended, cancer patients and their families will also be surveyed.