Nurses' Knowledge and Education about Oral Care of Cancer XXXX Undergoing Chemotherapy and Radiation Therapy.

@entity5 @entity1
CONTEXT: Oral health awareness and oral care are crucial aspects of oncology nursing practice. However very few studies concentrate on the oral care of @entity5 @entity1 undergoing @entity5 treatment and nursing practice in the Indian subcontinent. Most of the published studies have been conducted in the Western and European countries. AIM: This study aimed to determine the nurses' knowledge and education about oral care in @entity5 @entity1 undergoing chemotherapy and radiation therapy. SETTING AND DESIGN: A cross sectional descriptive survey was conducted among 158 staff nurses working in oncology related areas from 4 different hospitals of Dakshina Kannada district and Udupi district of Karnataka state, India. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: descriptive and inferential statistics was used by using SPSS 16 version. RESULTS: Majority 81 (51.3%) of the staff nurses had poor knowledge of oral care in @entity5 @entity1 whereas 87 (55.1%) reported that knowledge acquired through basic education in oral care is not sufficient. Most of the staff nurses 115 (72.8%) did not receive basic education in oral care of @entity5 @entity1 . There was significant association between knowledge and variables such as designation (.005), years of work experience (.040) and years of experience in @entity5 wards (.000) at 0.05 levels. CONCLUSION: Lack of knowledge suggest the need to develop and implement continuing nursing education programs on oral care specifically for @entity1 receiving @entity5 treatments, for improving knowledge of staff nurses' in order to render comprehensive care to the @entity1 . This study also recommends the importance of inclusion of @entity5 @entity1 specific oral care in the curriculum which can enhance competency of the qualified nurses in @entity5 wards.
