title: The quality of oncology nursing care: A cross sectional survey in three countries in Europe.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The increase in patients diagnosed with and living with cancer calls for the provision of quality nursing care within this paradigm, one that can reflect the complex needs of the patient that cancer and its treatments induce. The study aimed to evaluate the quality of oncology nursing care, as perceived, by hospitalized cancer patients in three European countries.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a cross-sectional descriptive study. In-patients diagnosed with cancer were selected based on explicit inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data was collected with the Quality of Oncology Nursing Care Scale- QONCS, comprising of 34 items grouped in 5 domains. Sociodemographic data was also retrieved.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The sample included 610 patients receiving care in 2 hospitals in Cyprus (n = 274), 1 hospital in Greece (n = 144) and 2 hospitals in the Czech Republic (n = 192). Statistically significant differences were found between the three countries and across all domains of the QONCS, with the exception of the spiritual and religious care (p = 0.136). Age and days of treatment produced statistically significant differences across all the domains of the QONCS, whilst gender did not produced any statistically significant differences (p ranged from (0.136-0.369).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is one of the first studies that provide evidence on the Quality of Nursing Care delivered to patients diagnosed with cancer in various European countries. Discrepancies were found between the participating countries. However, the provision of spiritual and religious care by the nurses received the lowest scores across the three participating countries.
authors.affiliation: Cyprus University of Technology, Department of Nursing, 15 Vragadinou Street, 3041, Limassol, Cyprus; University of Turku, Department of Nursing, Finland. Electronic address: Andreas.charalambous@cut.ac.cy.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Charalambous
authors.affiliation: Athens, Technological Institute, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Theodoula
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Adamakidou
authors.affiliation: Cyprus University of Technology, Department of Nursing, 15 Vragadinou Street, 3041, Limassol, Cyprus.
authors.forename: Constantina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cloconi
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Health, Nursing Services, Educational Sector, Prodromou 1 Chilonos 17, Ministry of Health, 1448, Nicosia, Cyprus.
authors.forename: Melanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Charalambous
authors.affiliation: Cyprus University of Technology, Department of Nursing, 15 Vragadinou Street, 3041, Limassol, Cyprus.
authors.forename: Theologia
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tsitsi
authors.affiliation: Ostrava University, Ostrava- Zábřeh, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Lucie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vondráčková
authors.affiliation: Ostrava University, Ostrava- Zábřeh, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Radka
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bužgová
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003535:Cyprus; D018153:Czech Republic; D005260:Female; D006115:Greece; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009859:Oncology Nursing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cancer patients; Cross-country comparison; Hospitalised patients; Nursing care; Quality