Most nurses agree that incorporating evidence into practice is necessary to provide quality care, but barriers such as time, resources, and knowledge often interfere with the actual implementation of practice change.
Published practice guidelines are one source to direct practice; this article focuses on the use of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network’s Clinical Practice Guidelines for Oncology: Distress Management, which articulate standards and demonstrate assessment for psychosocial distress.
Planning for the implementation of the guidelines in a feasibility pilot in a busy radiation oncology clinic is described. Results indicate that adding a distress assessment using the distress thermometer and problem checklist did not present substantial burden to nurses in the clinic or overwhelm the mental health, pastoral care, or oncology social work referral sources with more patients.
Understanding distress scores and problems identified by patients helped the nurses direct education interventions and referrals appropriately; improved patient satisfaction scores reflected this.
Withdrawal of life support and chaplaincy in Australia
OBJECTIVE
To explore the role of health care chaplains in providing pastoral care to patients, their families and clinical staff considering decisions to withdraw life support.
METHODS
Quantitative data were obtained retrospectively from a survey of 327 Australian health care chaplains (both staff and volunteer chaplains) to initially identify chaplaincy participation in withdrawal-of-life-support issues.
Qualitative data were subsequently obtained by in-depth interview of 100 of the surveyed chaplains and thematically coded using the World Health Organization Pastoral Intervention (WHO-PI) codings to explore chaplains’ roles.
RESULTS
Over half the staff chaplains surveyed (57%) and over a quarter of the volunteer chaplains (28%) indicated that they had been involved with patients or their families in withdrawal-of-life-support decisions. Over a third of staff chaplains (37%) and 16% of volunteer chaplains had assisted clinical staff concerning withdrawal-of-life-support issues.
The qualitative data revealed that chaplains were involved with patients, their families and clinical staff at all levels of pastoral intervention, including “pastoral assessment”, “pastoral ministry”, “pastoral counselling and education” and “pastoral ritual and worship”.
The specific nature of chaplaincy involvement varied considerably depending on the idiosyncratic issues faced by patients, families and clinical staff. These activities indicated that pastoral care could be provided for the support and benefit of patients, their families and clinical staff facing a complex bioethical issue.
CONCLUSIONS
Through a variety of pastoral interventions, some chaplains (mostly staff chaplains) were involved in assisting patients, their families and clinical staff concerning withdrawal-of-life-support issues and thus helped ensure an holistic approach within the health care context.
Given this involvement and the future potential benefit for patients, families and clinical staff, there is a need to develop continuing education and research on pastoral care and chaplaincy services.