Congress Abstracts 2006

304

FINDING OUR NICHE: ONCOLOGY NURSES' PERCEPTION OF CARING FOR OLDER ADULTS. Tara A. Cleary, RN, MA, APRN BC, GNP, OCN^® , Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) projects 60% of new cancer diagnoses and 70% of cancer mortality occur in patients who are 65 and older. Currently, nursing assessment and intervention has focused on adult patients and has not examined the patterns unique to older adults. Therefore, it is essential for the oncology nurse to understand the special needs of older adults and incorporate this knowledge into practice.

In an attempt to better understand oncology nurses' perceptions and knowledge of caring for older adults, this NCI designated cancer center participated in a multi-step geriatric initiative that began with a needs assessment. This survey was designed to assess nurses' attitudes and knowledge of best practices and perceived barriers to care for older adults.

The NICHE (Nurses Improving Care for Healthsystem Elders) program, developed by the Hartford Institute of Geriatric Nursing at New York University, is a national initiative designed to help hospitals achieve systematic change to benefit older patients. The first step in the NICHE initiative is the Geriatric Institutional Assessment Profile (GIAP), a 68 item questionnaire. This tool was administered to 385 nurses from selected oncology specialties over a four week period.

The overall survey response rate was 47%. The survey identified staff shortages/ time constraints (75% of participants), lack of specialized services (68% of participants), and confusion over who is the appropriate decision maker (62% of participants) as obstacles to caring for older adults. When benchmarked against 143 other participating institutions, disparities were identified in our current practices. Areas for improvement were identified with regards to sleep disorders, incontinence and pressure ulcer management.