Journal of pediatric oncology nursing : official journal of the Association of Pediatric Oncology Nurses
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J Pediatr Oncol Nurs · Apr 1994
Comparative StudyMeasuring pain in pediatric oncology ICU patients.
Thirty patients (ages 5 to 13) hospitalized in a pediatric oncology intensive care unit (ICU) rated the presence and severity of their pain on the Faces Pain Scale (FPS) and the Poker Chip Tool (PCT). Parents independently rated the child's pain on these scales and each patient's nurse completed the Objective Pain Scale (OPS). ⋯ The majority of patients, parents, and nurses expressed a preference for the FPS over the PCT. The FPS appears to be a clinically useful and accurate approach for measuring the pain of pediatric oncology patients in an ICU but is limited to those who can participate in a self-report measurement.
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J Pediatr Oncol Nurs · Apr 1994
What caused my child's cancer? Parents' responses to an epidemiology study of childhood cancer.
When a child is diagnosed with cancer, parents try to understand why the cancer developed. Although usually it is not possible to explain what caused an individual child's cancer, clinical experience has shown that parents do form theories about the origins of their child's illness although, or perhaps because, no one knows the actual cause. ⋯ Statements contained in the responses were categorized into 12 major themes according to content: concern about environmental exposures (n = 303), concern about family health history (n = 270), specific causality attribution (n = 39), puzzlement (n = 24), concern with cancer "clusters" (n = 23), concern with stress (n = 22), altruism (n = 15), specific feedback requests (n = 11), myths/misconceptions (n = 5), advocation of preventive education/screening (n = 4), active information-seeking (n = 6), and parental self-blame (n = 4). These themes or concerns provide useful information that can be applied in planning educational and supportive clinical interventions, as well as further research.
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This study assesses the knowledge base of pediatric nurses in Iowa regarding cancer pain. The Iowa Cancer Pain Relief Initiative surveyed 10,000 nurses in the state of Iowa (representing approximately 25% of all actively licensed nurses in the state). A demographic question allowed pediatric nurses' responses to be separated and analyzed independently. ⋯ Content analysis of questionnaires from pediatric respondents indicated that pediatric nurses cared for cancer patients regularly but had poor understanding of general principles of pain management for the cancer patient. Nurses had exaggerated concerns regarding the risk of addiction and respiratory depression associated with narcotic analgesics. They also had poor understanding of basic pharmacokinetic principles of common analgesic agents.
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J Pediatr Oncol Nurs · Jan 1994
The 1992 APON Delphi study to establish research priorities for pediatric oncology nursing. Association of Pediatric Oncology Nurses.
The Association of Pediatric Oncology Nurses (APON) recently sponsored a two-wave Delphi study to identify the most important research priorities for pediatric oncology nursing. Seventy-five research priorities were rated for importance by 227 APON members. ⋯ The top 10 research priorities were primarily about nursing procedures and psychosocial care needs of patients and families. The top priority was to "measure the quality of life and late effects of treatment in long-term survivors of childhood cancer." Study findings will be used to encourage researchers to conduct research on these priorities and to encourage funding organizations to support research related to these priorities.