Symptom-Level Description of Nursing Perceptions About Unwarranted Clinical Variation, Inequality in Access to Cancer Services, Specific-Symptom Knowledge: An Italian Web-Based Survey.

Abstract

This study aimed to describe the cancer nurses' views regarding the relevance of cancer symptom-specific knowledge, unwarranted clinical variation, and inequities in access to cancer services. Describing how nurses perceive these aspects could help identify research priorities and a practical framework to prioritize clinical practice guidelines. A web-based survey was performed using a convenience sample of 810 nurses employed in cancer settings and cross-sectional data collection. The survey adopted a previously validated questionnaire investigating 14 symptoms. This study revealed which cancer symptoms require priority attention to define evidence-grounded guidance for decreasing unwarranted clinical variation and inequities in access to cancer services. Future multiprofessional and multinational studies are recommended to provide an in-depth description of the investigated phenomena. Participants reported higher mean scores in pain-specific knowledge than other symptoms. Social functioning alterations and psychological disorders seem to be highly susceptible to unwarranted clinical variation and inequities in access to cancer services. This information could drive tailored interventions to improve nursing practice.