Objectives/purpose: Nurses are increasingly relied upon to meet the needs of people diagnosed with cancer via person-centred interventions and models of care. As the specialist cancer nursing workforce increases, it is vital to review the current evidence base on the effectiveness of nurse-led interventions and people with cancers’ preference for care provider.
Procedures: Two complementary reviews: 1) umbrella review of systematic reviews exploring effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of specialist cancer nurse-led interventions and models of care; and 2) systematic review of discrete choice experiments involving cancer nurses as care providers.
Results: Umbrella review: Of 1,192 reviews screened, 30 were included. Cancer nurse specialist interventions were delivered face-to-face, via telephone or internet, and included: 1) teaching, guiding and counselling; 2) treatments and procedures; 3) case management; and 4) surveillance. When counting specific outcomes in each review, specialist cancer nurse-led interventions were more effective than usual care at improving symptom burden, and self-management and behaviour outcomes (n= 148/286, 52%; n= 63/107, 59% favouring nurse-led interventions respectively). Satisfaction outcomes were also higher for nurse-led interventions n=30/58 (52%). No significant differences were reported for quality of life, survival, healthcare utilisation, and cost outcomes between nurse-led interventions and usual care. Systematic review: Of 471 studies screened, 9 were included. In five studies of scenarios of follow-up care (i.e., survivorship/surveillance), cancer medical specialists were the preferred care provider, followed by cancer nurses, and then GPs. In four studies of supportive care scenarios (i.e., diet and exercise advice, anxiety and depression screening), cancer nurses were the preferred care provider, followed by allied health professionals, and then cancer medical specialist. The attributes of care ranked most important by people with cancer were care provider, mode of care, and thoroughness of care.
Conclusion and clinical implications: Findings substantiate the important role specialist cancer nurses play in provision of supportive care.