Congress Abstracts 2006

229

COMPARING PATIENTS', FAMILIES', AND NURSES' ASSESSMENT OF NEED FOR INTERVENTION. Joan Bickes, MSN, APRN, BC, Margaret Falahee, APRN, Esther Bennett, RN, MSN, Janet Harden, PhD, RN, and Darlene Mood, PhD, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI; and Laurel Northouse, PhD, RN, FAAN, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.

Families facing cancer differ in their need for interventions (NFI) offered within nursing randomized clinical trials. Most studies use “one-size-fits-all” interventions not targeted to perceived needs of patients and families. For clinical utility, studies should consider the variance in NFI so that the most appropriate, efficient, cost effective care is delivered, and identify brief assessment tools that accurately measure NFI.

The purpose of this study was to: 1) describe patients', spouses', and nurses' perceived need for family-based psycho-educational intervention, 2) correlate patients', spouses', and nurses' perceived NFI, and 3) correlate NFI with risk for distress scores. This study addresses the ONS priority regarding self management strategies for patients/families.

A stress-coping framework, adapted from Lazarus, guided development of the family-based FOCUS program and study design.

A secondary analysis of data obtained during a randomized clinical trial of the FOCUS program was used to address study aims. The sample consisted of patients with prostate cancer and their spouses who participated in the intervention group (N= 70 dyads). Patients and spouses rated themselves on a five-point NFI Scale after the intervention was completed. Advanced Practice Intervention Nurses rated dyads' NFI on a five-point scale during three home visits. Patients and family members also completed Mood's reliable and valid Omega Screening Questionnaire to determine their risk for distress (RFD). Descriptive and correlational analyses were used to examine the data.