Donna Berry Discusses Nurse-Led Patient Education

Donna L. Berry, PhD, RN, AOCN, FAAN, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Director, The Phyllis F. Cantor Center for Nursing Research, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, discusses an evidence-based pilot study that examined the role of nurse-led patient education to enhance adherence to oral therapies.

This pilot study was initially deployed in the thoracic department at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute for patients receiving the oral agent erlotinib to treat non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

The trial used an adapted version of MOATT, the oral agent teaching tool provided by the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC). The goal of the study was to teach patients about possible side effects before they received treatment. Additionally, 72 hours after the initial treatment, a nurse would talk the patient to assess possible side effects that may have occurred.

In general, Berry notes, this program proved to be a very successful way to increase both knowledge and adherence to oral therapies. Berry adds that the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute plans to deploy this system across other treatment areas that use oral therapies.