Oral sequelae of chemotherapy: an important teaching opportunity for oncology health care providers and their patients

Abstract

The object of this work was to conduct a rapid assessment of a teaching hospital's promotion of optimal oral health among its chemotherapy patients. A pilot study was undertaken, which included focus interviews with oncology clinic staff, a review of the fellowship training curriculum, and unobtrusive observations in the clinic setting. Charts were also audited for oncology patients who were probable chemotherapy candidates. A review of the data offered no evidence that oral health care was routinely addressed in a preventive context prior to the initiation of chemotherapy. Promotion of oral health care will help reduce the risk of oral sequelae of chemotherapy for patients and the subsequent impact of the oral sequelae on patients' chemotherapeutic regimen, thereby improving patients' chances of survival and improving their quality of life. Other teaching hospitals may wish to conduct a similar rapid assessment to determine whether they too could improve patient care and professional education in this area by incorporating pre-chemotherapy oral health evaluation and treatment into routine care for cancer patients.

Patient information in radiation oncology: a cross-sectional pilot study using the EORTC QLQ-INFO26 module

“…It remains unclear whether the less satisfied patients did not receive sufficient information or the patients lost information, due limited capacity and the enormous amout of information as Sadler et al showed previously [ 20 ].…”

Barriers and strategies in implementation of oral care standards for cancer patients

“…Other authors have noted the relative lack of oral care information in the curricula of professional schools [8,9,21,22] and even expressed concern about whether clinical educators are serving as adequate role models for students [28]. Clearly, there is a need for better basic and continuing education following initial professional preparation [1,14].…”

“…Lastly, it is increasingly evident in clinical practice that patients and their families also have significant gaps in knowledge about oral complications of cancer and how to manage them [12,18,20,28]. Effective patient educational material appears to be lacking [35] and a focus on comprehensive education of patients and their families is warranted [8,9].…”

“…Thus, despite lack of agreement among various disciplines about a universal standard of oral care, with rare exceptions, they have done little to collaborate with each other to devise more universally accepted and effective approaches to oral care [12, 13,20]. Some experts have commented that one important group of health-care providers, dentists, are often missing from the team yet have relevant contributions to make [28,30,33]. In contrast, others fail to recognize or even acknowledge the important role that certain groups, such as nurses, play in oral care [33].…”

Promulgation of guidelines for mucositis management: educating health care professionals and patients

“…Newly diagnosed patients are estimated to retain less than 20% of the information that is given to them [14]; therefore, it is essential to develop strategies that help them remember more than 20% of the information provided. In general, people remember 20% of what they hear, 30% of what they see, 50% of what they hear AND see, 70% of what they hear, see, and say, and 90% of what they hear, see, say, and do [2].…”