treatment room while you are taking their vital signs and helping them get their gown on. Who knows what you will learn?
Janice Maienza, MSN, RN, is a retired associate professor in Westford, MA. Maienza can be reached at [email protected], with copy to CJONEditor@ ons.org
The author takes full responsibility for this content and did not receive honoraria or disclose any relevant financial relationships.
The Guest Editor Responds
Thank you for sharing your thought- provoking insights that endorse many issues addressed in the supplement to the October 2020 issue of CJON on cancer prevention. Your passion illuminates that prevention should not be a neglected focus in primary care. Although CJON’s primary readership is oncology nurses and advanced practice nurses, our message reaches many healthcare practitioners across the health spectrum. In reality, we all share in the responsibility to reach out to our primary healthcare colleagues about common health prevention strategies they can instill in their practice.
The legacy of Florence Nightingale calls nurses into action by endorsing and teaching communities about the importance of cancer-specific preventive strategies, including access to clean water, adequate nutrients and food, and proper hygiene. The World Health Organization estimates that millions of lives globally can be saved through implementation of cancer prevention strategies (Bray & Soerjomataram, 2015).
We can partner with our primary care and population health colleagues to guide the incorporation of essential prevention and screening questions regarding healthy behaviors and environmental exposure risks into practice for all patients, as outlined in the articles by Dike and McGowan (2020), Glenn (2020), and Hirschey et al. (2020). Motivational inter-viewing has been shown to be an effective counseling method to change behaviors; Glenn (2020) describes how to use this technique to engage patients, including survivors, in the adoption of healthy behaviors. Watson (2020) appeals to oncology nurses to initiate conversations with our healthcare partners, community advisors, and legislators regarding initiatives that promote healthy behaviors and screening activities. In addition, O’Leary (2020) provides exemplary practice initiatives that can be replicated in our communities and healthcare systems. In essence, the motivation of the prevention supplement is to inspire oncology nurses and all nurses to champion the initiatives described and those that you eloquently illustrated to influence social determinants of health and wellness.
Deborah “Hutch” Allen, PhD, RN, CNS, FNP-BC, AOCNP®, is the director of nursing research and evidence-based practice at the Duke University Health System in Durham, NC. Allen can be reached at [email protected], with copy to [email protected].
The author takes full responsibility for this content and did not receive honoraria or disclose any relevant financial relationships.
REFERENCES
Bray, F., & Soerjomataram, I. (2015). The changing global burden of cancer: Transitions in human development and implications for cancer prevention and control. In H. Gelband, P. Jha, R. Sankaranarayanan, & S. Horton (Eds.), Disease control priorities: Vol. 3: Cancer (3rd ed., pp.23–44). World Bank Group. https://doi.org/10.1596/978-1-4648-0349-9_ch2
Dike, S., & McGowan, T. (2020). Environmental risk factors: The role of oncology nurses in assessing and reducing the risk for exposure. Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, 24(5, Suppl. 2), 31–38. https://doi.org/10.1188/20.CJON.S2.31-38
Glenn, D. (2020). Behavioral risk factors: A guide for oncology nurses counseling patients. Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, 24(5, Suppl. 2), 9–18. https://doi.org/10.1188/20.CJON.S2.9-18
Hirschey, R., Nyrop, K.A., & Mayer, D.K. (2020). Healthy behaviors: Prevalence of uptake among cancer survivors. Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, 24(5, Suppl. 2), 19–29. https://doi.org/10.1188/20.CJON.S2.19-29
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