Exploring the need of oncology nurses to use current awareness services CAS available via the WWW: a

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Exploring the need of oncology nurses to use
current awareness services (CAS) available via
the WWW a South African perspective

• Prof Ina Fourie
• Mrs. Retha Claasen-Veldsman
• Department of Information Science
• University of Pretoria
• South Africa

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Introduction

• Society marked by changes in
• Access to information
• WWW current awareness services (CAS)
• ICT skills required
• Information literacy skills required
• Changes affect both patients and health care
  professionals such as doctors, nurses
• Oncology nurses
• Seeming urgency for information vs practical
  realities
• Perceived value of information

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WWW and current awareness services (CAS)

• Oncology nursing resources
• Professional associations
• Professional journals
• Tables of contents
• Tables of contents services
• RSS feeds
• Electronic newsletters
• Book alerting services
• Discussion groups
• Websites with noteworthy content
• Monitoring software
• Portals
• Other related resources

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Scope of this paper

• Purpose of the research project
• Setting
• Limited empirical survey to offer South African
  perspective
• Medical Oncology Clinic
• Hospital Oncology Wards (2)
• Participants
• Literature survey
• Empirical survey
• Findings
• Suggestions

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Purpose of study

• Enabling oncology nurses health care
  professionals to exploit WWW CAS available for
  free
• Developing a theoretical model of the information
  behaviour of oncology nurses health care
  professionals
• Developing mechanisms to support the information
  needs information behaviour of cancer patients
• Interventions
• Link between role players and changing environment

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Literature survey

• Information behaviour of
• Oncology nurses
• Oncologists
• Nurses (in general as well as different types)
• Cancer patients
• Models of information behaviour
• Other findings from information behaviour (cont.)

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Literature survey (cont.)

• Pressures and demands faced by oncology nurses
• Throughout Europe cancer nurses are striving to
  meet the challenges of providing quality nursing
  care amid changing environments that are
  characterized by advances in drugs and
  technologies, ageing populations, increasing
  rates of cancer, increased survival rates, rising
  costs and increasing economic constraints
• (Baker Fitch as cited by Browne, Robinson
  Richardson, 2002134)
• How do oncology nurses stay up to date? (cont.)

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Literature survey (cont.)

• Evidence-based practices
• Life-long learning
• Increased use of ICT
• Increased need for patient education and support
• Changes in health care environment
• Growing demand for improved health care services
• New roles

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Hospital
Team
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Participants (convenience sample)

• Medical Oncology Clinic
• Head oncologist (1)
• Oncology nurses (5 sisters)
• Oncology social worker (1)

• Hospital Oncology Wards
• Ward 1 treatment chemoterapy, stem cell
  transplants, etc.
• Ward 2 terminally ill patients children
  palliative care, pediatric care
• Unit manager (sister) (1)
• Oncology nurses (sisters, staff nurses, assistant
  nurses) (16)
• Care workers (2)

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Research methods

• Questionnaire
• Individual interviews limited group interviews
  (need to deal with realities)
• Individual semi-structured interviews with
  management
• Head oncologist (1 hour)
• Unit manager of hospital wards (1 hour)

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Hospital
Team
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Functions daily tasks

• Medical Oncology Clinic
• Administration of treatment (e.g. chemotherapy)
• Monitoring/observation of patients
• Feedback to oncologists
• Administrative tasks
• Sharing information with patients
• Self-treatment, implications of processes
• Queries
• Counselling of patients, family and staff

• Hospital Oncology Wards
• Intensive administration of treatment (e.g.
  chemotherapy, medication)
• Intensive monitoring observation of patients
• Feedback to oncologists
• Care of hospitalised patients
• Offering of emotional support to
  patients/family/friends
• Patient education
• Interaction with oncologists (and other doctors)
• Administrative tasks
• Staff training
• Supporting of hospital staff (i.e. role of care
  workers)

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Perceived impact of functions daily tasks

• Medical Oncology Clinic
• Tiredness
• Much time on feet
• Numerous interruptions
• No privacy to search for information
• Emotional impact
• Routine nature of tasks

• Hospital Wards
• Tiredness (very long shifts)
• Much time on feet
• Numerous interruptions
• No privacy to search for information
• Emotional impact (strong)
• Numerous interruptions
• No privacy to search for information
• Difficult to balance work with personal life,
  continuous education
• Insufficient staff and time to do what is really
  important
• Routine nature of tasks

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Perceived value of information

• Medical Oncology Clinic
• Management
• Oncologists very up-to-date
• Some staff members showing interests
• Opportunities for staff
• Adequate
• Staff
• Rely on oncologists
• Conference and seminar opportunities
• Information nice to have, but not essential

• Hospital Oncology Wards
• Management
• Rely on oncologists
• Few opportunities
• ICT skills should be part of continuing education
• Staff
• Rely on oncologists
• Rely on hospital ward management
• Rely on patients (limited)
• Information nice to have, but not essential
• More ambitious -- higher need for information
• Close to retiring age -- less need for
  information (cont.)

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Perceived value of information (cont.)

• Mostly adequate
• Oncologists
• Sister-in-charge
• Hospital management
• Colleagues
• Reference works

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Patient well-being

• Patients
• Workshops, seminars,
• conferences

• Nice to have
• Medical/drug related
• information
• Job opportunities
• Training opportunities
• Personal use

• Mostly unaware/ unfamiliar
• WWW CAS
• ICT skills
• Information literacy

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International trends scientific research
Good awareness
Limited awareness
Management
Head oncologist oncologists
Staff
Patients
Other institutions
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Barriers to use of information WWW CAS

• Medical Oncology Clinic
• Staff
• Time
• Access (ICT privacy)
• Daily tasks
• Skills
• Management
• Nature of tasks task perception
• Value of information
• Personal motivation

• Hospital Oncology Wards
• Staff
• Time
• Demands of the job (physical emotional)
• Funding
• Access (ICT privacy)
• Daily tasks
• Skills
• Opportunities
• Management
• Time, demands of job, skills, daily tasks,
  access, funding
• Staff shortages

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Developing a culture of keeping up in a dynamic
field

• Acknowledging the nature and demands of their
  jobs
• Need to find ways to face the realities of
  professional life
• Need to find ways to explore what CAS may offer
• Managements mindset
• Staffs mindset
• Exploring and stimulating interest in CAS
• Expanding our knowledge and understanding
• Information behaviour in the oncology health care
  environments
• Information behaviour of patients
• Expanding knowledge of opportunities for
  intervention

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Point of departure for staff understanding
yourself
Me who I am
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My personal life
My job work place
Oncology profession
Society
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Point of departure for management understanding
information behaviour in the larger context
Own awareness of information
Dissemination to other role players
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Opportunities for information acquisition and use
Oncology information infrastructure
Demands of society
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Conclusion

• Exploratory study
• Interventions (planning in progress)
• Workshop
• Self-paced study package
• Portal
• Linking needs of staff, management and patients
• Communities of practice
• Collaboration
• Flow theory