Survivorship Care Practices and Confidence of Oncology Nurses in Singapore: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: Cancer survivorship care is challenging because little is known about delivering comprehensive and coordinated survivorship care practices (SCP) to patients. The purpose of this study is to examine oncology nurses’ perceptions of responsibilities of SCP, confidence levels of SCP, and factors that influence provisions of SCP. Method: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted using the Cancer Professional Questionnaire. Analysis was conducted using independent t-test and analysis of variance to examine the differences between variables. Results: Nurses ( n = 147) agreed that it was their responsibilities to provide SCP, but the majority lacked the confidence to do so. Significant differences were found in the confidence levels of nurses with different education attainments ( p = .004). A lack of time and educational resources were factors impeding SCP. Discussion: Organizational interventions and education programs are needed to ensure that oncology nurses are confident in providing culturally congruent survivorship care in a multicultural country such as Singapore.