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The importance of nutrition, diet and lifestyle advice for cancer survivors – the role of nursing staff and interprofessional workers
Author(s) -
Murphy Jane L,
Girot Elizabeth A
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of clinical nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.94
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1365-2702
pISSN - 0962-1067
DOI - 10.1111/jocn.12053
Subject(s) - medicine , nursing , quality of life (healthcare) , medline , relevance (law) , family medicine , political science , law
Aims and objectives To examine current guidelines and the evidence base to illustrate the importance of nutrition, diet and lifestyle advice to support people who have survived cancer and help them integrate back into normal life, improve their quality of life and potentially improve their chance of long‐term survival. Background Cancer survivors need to know about nutrition and other lifestyle behaviour changes to help them recover and potentially reduce the risk of the same cancer recurring or a new cancer developing. From this perspective, frontline registered nurses are in a prime position to support cancer survivors who are in their care. Design Discursive paper. Methods On the basis of the international research evidence and a critical analysis of recent policy and practice literature, themes emerged, which illustrate the importance of nutrition, diet and lifestyle advice for cancer survivors. This paper discusses the need for more focused education and greater interprofessional working for quality care delivery. Conclusion New professional guidance for emerging frontline nurses indicates they should be able to provide appropriate and more consistent advice on nutritional issues, physical activity and weight management, although more research is needed to understand the right mode of nutrition training. Additionally, interprofessional working needs improving as well as encouraging cancer survivors to respond. Relevance to clinical practice High‐quality nutrition education and training is required for nurses working across both the acute and primary care sectors. They require this to effectively monitor and advise patients and to know when, where and from whom they can access more specialist help. Interprofessional collaborative working across multi‐centre settings ( N ational H ealth S ervice and non‐ N ational H ealth S ervice) is key to provide the best effective care and support for cancer survivors.