title: Therapeutic education to cancer patients: experiences of Italian nurses.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Therapeutic patient' education is a complex process requiring a proper level of communication between the patient and the healthcare professional. Nurses play a key role in providing the patients and their families with educational activities.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This paper is the report of a study which investigates the experiences of some Italian nurses with regards to their role in therapeutic education to cancer patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Qualitative research. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 52 nurses working in different Local Health Service Units of two northern Italy regions: Piedmont and Valle d'Aosta. To identify categories and items arising from the data, the researchers used a qualitative content analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The interview format was classified into six main categories: a) Patient education as daily care activity; b) Relevance of communication and dialogue for educational purposes; c) Relative usefulness of written information; d) Therapeutic education recording; e) Patients' feedbacks as a tool for assessing therapeutic education; and f) Difficult communication.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The experience of nurses in terms of their professional role in therapeutic education for cancer patients shows the steady presence of educational activities carried out in a non-planned way. This research confirms the need to launch educational interventions for nurses.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It is essential to implement an action plan to promote opportunities of professional training in the field since among the most frequent reasons for project failure in therapeutic education is the lack of expert human resources.
authors.affiliation: RN, MSN, PdD candidate Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, Univeristy of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy. Correspondence: prandicesarina@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Cesarina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Prandi
authors.affiliation: RN, MSN, Researcher in Nursing Science. Department of Public Health and Paediatrics, University of Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: Lorenza
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Garrino
authors.affiliation: MD, Oncologist, Department of Oncology, Biella Hospital, Biella, Italy.
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Clerico
authors.affiliation: RN, City Hospital Health and Science of the City of Turin, Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: Tiziana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sommovigo
authors.affiliation: PhD, RN, Research fellow, Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Ercole
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vellone
authors.affiliation: MSN, RN, Associate Professor, Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Rosaria
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Alvaro
mesh_terms: D016903:Drug Monitoring / Q000451:nursing*; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000451:nursing*; D024802:Nurse's Role; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D036301:Qualitative Research; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires