An assessment of survivorship care needs of patients with colorectal cancer: The experiences and perspectives of hospital nurses

Purpose To describe and analyse hospital nurses' experiences and perspectives of needs assessment in relation to colorectal cancer patients' survivorship care and rehabilitation needs. Method The methodology and design of this study was phenomenological-hermeneutic, and the analysis was performed by Ricoeur's theory of interpretation. Twelve hospital nurses working within the care of patients with colorectal cancer participated in four focus group interviews between February-March 2018. Focus group interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed. The study adhered to the COREQ checklist. Results Our analysis showed that nurses experienced challenges and barriers in conducting needs assessment. These challenges were described in three main themes. Encountering paradigms brought to light the difficulties relating to implementation of needs assessment into daily practice in the complex context of a hospital setting. Patient involvement could be challenging because of insufficient involvement and inadequate health literacy of patients in relation to needs assessment. A negative attitude towards systematic needs assessment among nurses could present a barrier because of their role as gatekeepers. Conclusion The findings point to important elements that are necessary to consider when planning cancer survivorship care in the hospital setting so that all patients experience the best possible cancer trajectory. These insights can guide future clinical practice in the endeavour to ensure more systematic initiatives towards cancer rehabilitation. Relevance to clinical practice Based on our findings, cancer survivorship care needs assessment in the hospital setting should encompass specific guidelines on needs assessment and systematic implementation of these guidelines by involving hospital management, nurses and patients through use of visionary information and communication. Implementation of these guidelines would be supported by securing knowledge on cancer survivorship care for all hospital health professionals. Health literacy should be considered in formulating guidelines that enhance involvement of patients by use of patient-centred communication.