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Demoralization in medical illness: Feasibility and acceptability of a pilot educational intervention for inpatient oncology nurses

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 August 2017

Benjamin W. Brewer ,
Jennifer M. Caspari ,
Jean Youngwerth ,
Leigh Nathan ,
Izaskun Ripoll  and
Alison Heru
Benjamin W. Brewer*
Affiliation:
Departmentof Medicine, University of Colorado–Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado–Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado
Jennifer M. Caspari
Affiliation:
Division of Mental Health and Clinical Neurosciences, VA Portland Health Care System, Portland, Oregon
Jean Youngwerth
Affiliation:
Departmentof Medicine, University of Colorado–Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado
Leigh Nathan
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado–Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado
Izaskun Ripoll
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado–Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado
Alison Heru
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado–Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Benjamin W. Brewer, Mail Stop F754, Anschutz Cancer Pavilion, 1665 Aurora Court, Room 4322, Aurora, Colorado 80045. E-mail: benjamin.brewer@ucdenver.edu.
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Abstract

Objective:

Demoralization is a common problem among medical inpatients with such serious health problems as cancer. An awareness of this syndrome, a knowledge of what defines it, and a plan for how to intervene are limited among nursing teams. Nurses are uniquely poised to efficiently provide brief interventions that address demoralization in their patients. To our knowledge, there are no interventions that train nurses to distinguish and treat demoralization in their patients. The objective of the present study was to determine the acceptability, feasibility, and impact of a novel educational intervention for nurses.

Method:

An educational training video was created and delivered to staff nurses (N = 31) at oncology staff meetings to test the feasibility and acceptability of this intervention. Assessments of nurses' knowledge about demoralization and intervention methods were administered immediately before and after the training intervention and through a web-based survey 6 weeks post-intervention. McNemar's test for dependent categorical data was utilized to evaluate change in survey responses at the three timepoints.

Results:

Nurses' understanding of the concept of demoralization and appropriate interventions significantly improved by 30.3% from pre- to posttest (p ≤ 0.0001). These improvements persisted at 6 weeks post-intervention (p ≤ 0.0001). At 6-week follow-up, 74.2% of participants agreed or strongly agreed that the training had positively changed their nursing practice, 96.8% reported that this training benefited their patients, and 100% felt that this training was important for the professional development of nurses.

Significance of results:

This pilot intervention appeared feasible and acceptable to nurses and resulted in increased understanding of demoralization, improved confidence to intervene in such cases, and an enhanced sense of professional satisfaction among inpatient oncology floor nurses.

Keywords

DemoralizationDepressionNurse educationOncology
Type
Original Article
Information
Palliative & Supportive Care , Volume 16 , Issue 5 , October 2018 , pp. 503 - 510
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

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