title: Effectiveness of a psycho-oncology training program for oncology nurses: a randomized controlled trial.
abstract: Oncology nurses are expected to play an important role in psychosocial care for cancer patients. The aim of this study was to examine whether a novel training program aimed at enhancing oncology nurses' ability to assess and manage common psychological problems in cancer patients would improve participants' self-reported confidence, knowledge, and attitudes regarding care of patients with common psychological problems (trial register: UMIN000008559).
  
  
  
  Oncology nurses were assigned randomly to either the intervention group (N = 50) or the waiting list control group (N = 46). The intervention group received a 16-h program, the content of which focused on four psychological issues: normal reactions, clinically significant distress, suicidal thoughts, and delirium. Each session included a role-play exercise, group work, and didactic lecture regarding assessment and management of each problem. Primary outcomes were changes in self-reported confidence, knowledge, and attitudes toward the common psychological problems between pre-intervention and 3 months post-intervention. Secondary outcomes were job-related stress and burnout. Intervention acceptability to participants was also assessed.
  
  
  
  In the intervention group, confidence and knowledge but not attitudes were significantly improved relative to the control group. No significant intervention effects were found for job- related stress and burnout. A high percentage (98%) of participants considered the program useful in clinical practice.
  
  
  
  This psycho-oncology training program improved oncology nurses' confidence and knowledge regarding care for patients with psychological problems. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Cognitive-Behavioral Medicine, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Yosuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kubota
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Cognitive-Behavioral Medicine, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya, Japan.|Division of Psycho-oncology and Palliative Care, Nagoya City University Hospital, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Toru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okuyama
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Cognitive-Behavioral Medicine, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya, Japan.|Division of Psycho-oncology and Palliative Care, Nagoya City University Hospital, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Megumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Uchida
authors.affiliation: Section of Liaison Psychiatry and Palliative Medicine, Division of Comprehensive Patient Care, Tokyo Medical and Dental University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Shino
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Umezawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Cognitive-Behavioral Medicine, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya, Japan.|Division of Psycho-oncology and Palliative Care, Nagoya City University Hospital, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomohiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakaguchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Cognitive-Behavioral Medicine, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya, Japan.|Division of Psycho-oncology and Palliative Care, Nagoya City University Hospital, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sugano
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Cognitive-Behavioral Medicine, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya, Japan.|Division of Psycho-oncology and Palliative Care, Nagoya City University Hospital, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshinori
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, Nagoya City University School of Nursing, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Fujika
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Katsuki
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, School of Human Sciences, Sugiyama Jogakuen University, Nissin, Aichi, Japan.
authors.forename: Yumi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakano
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Aichi Medical University School of Medicine, Nagakute, Aichi, Japan.
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nishiyama
authors.affiliation: Division of Nursing, Aichi Cancer Center Hospital, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Katayama
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Cognitive-Behavioral Medicine, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya, Japan.|Division of Psycho-oncology and Palliative Care, Nagoya City University Hospital, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Tatsuo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Akechi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007318:Inservice Training / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000451:nursing* / Q000523:psychology*; D009720:Nurse Clinicians / Q000193:education; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000193:education* / Q000523:psychology; D009859:Oncology Nursing / Q000193:education* / Q000379:methods
keywords: cancer; communication; nurse education; oncology; palliative care