Guidance for Specialised Cancer Nursing of People With Gynaecological Cancers: A Scoping Review.
Natalie Williams, Georgia Halkett, Tracey Moroney and 2 others
PMID 42186378WHAT IT FOUND
Twelve international guidance sources cover parts of gynaecological cancer nursing care, but none covers all cancers or all care needs.
Nurses should expect to combine sources and point-of-care protocols for wound, sexual, menopause, lymphoedema and discharge care.
Key findings
01Twelve sources of clinical guidelines, recommendations for practice or equivalent guidance specific to nursing roles were identified.
02No one source provided guidance across all the gynaecological cancers.
03The included guidance recommended nursing actions including screening and assessment, patient education and information provision, psychosocial support, care coordination, wound care, specialist referral and actions to maximise wellness.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The review did not appraise the quality, credibility or appropriateness of the guidance sources. Only English sources were included, and the search was limited to three main databases, Google Scholar, targeted websites and one journal. The targeted website search focused on countries with healthcare systems similar to Australia, which may have missed guidance from other settings. Sources had to explicitly identify nurses or nursing care, so broader gynaecological cancer guidelines without nursing detail were excluded. No patient outcomes were measured; the review maps guidance rather than showing that the guidance improves care.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the 12 sources as a complete or appraised evidence base for gynaecological cancer nursing. The review did not judge source quality or test whether the guidance improves patient outcomes.