Journal Article

CLOSING EDUCATION GAPS IN THE HEAD AND NECK CANCER POPULATION

Taylor, Terri, Adams, Domenica (Nickie), Gallaway, Diane, Domb, Alisa, Bassett, Dawn

2022

Overview

Patients with Head and Neck Cancers (HNC) are a diverse group with complex educational and support needs. Literature suggests HNC patients often experience fragmented care. These patients would therefore benefit from standardized education to address disease-specific stressors including treatments, symptoms, speaking and swallowing difficulties, and nutrition which can affect quality of life. Treatments are often multidisciplinary and multimodal, adding to the potential for inconsistent education, misunderstanding of the education leading to confusion, and missed information. Given these complexities, literature suggests the majority of HNC patients prefer written information about their diagnosis and treatment. The HonorHealth Oncology Navigation (HON) team identified an education gap for this patient population. The HON team and our Oncology Certified Registered Dietician developed an evidence-based Head and Neck Cancer Education Guide. The development of standardized, comprehensive, and understandable written information removes potential barriers of inconsistent education or misunderstanding leading to patient confusion. The receipt of written information encourages patients to actively participate in their care. Across many studies, patients requested education and support for managing treatment-related side effects, maintaining health during treatment, and achieving a healthy lifestyle after treatment. The Head and Neck Cancer Education Guide focuses on disease-specific topics including treatment side effects management, nutrition goals and recipes, feeding tube guidelines, and survivorship recommendations. Written information reinforces verbal education provided during one-on-one consults. It also improves understanding and recall. The Oncology Nurse Navigation (ONN) team implemented a workflow to provide individualized educational counseling and standardized written information to newly diagnosed HNC patients with the goal of increasing the rate of ONN consults by 20%. Baseline data was collected between November 2019 and February 2020 for a subset of newly diagnosed HNC patients. Between March and May 2020, the HON team and Registered Dietician developed the educational guide and prioritized ONN consults for newly diagnosed patients. The post-intervention data was collected between June and October 2020. At baseline, 60% of HNC patients met with an ONN to review diagnosis, treatment, potential side effects, and nutritional support. Post-intervention, the rate was 100%. The HON team identified and closed education gaps for HNC patients. These efforts aligned evidence-based recommendations with internal processes which can improve patient care.

• Publisher: Oncology Nursing Society
• Subject: Education / Head & neck cancer / Oncology / Patients / Symptom management