ONCOLOGY NURSES' COMFORT LEVELS IN DISCUSSING PATIENTS' MEDICAL CANNABIS USE: PRE- AND POST- INTERVENTION.

Background & Significance: Cannabis may provide relief to patients with pain, nausea, and anxiety. While over 130 people a day die from an opioid overdose (Health Resources and Services Administration, 2023), death after cannabis use is rare (Rock et al,. 2022). Yet a large portion of patients do no...

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Publicado en:Oncology Nursing Forum Vol. 53; no. 2; pp. 385 - 387
Autores principales: Hopkins, Margaret, Li, Chendi
Formato: Journal Article
Publicado: Oncology Nursing Society Mar2026
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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      dt: Mar2026
      vid: 53
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      pub: Oncology Nursing Society
      place: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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        atl: ONCOLOGY NURSES' COMFORT LEVELS IN DISCUSSING PATIENTS' MEDICAL CANNABIS USE: PRE- AND POST- INTERVENTION.
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          Hopkins, Margaret
          Li, Chendi
        affil: MSN, RN, ONC, HNB-BC, Hackensack University Medical Center-JTCC, Hackensack, NJ
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      ab: Background & Significance: Cannabis may provide relief to patients with pain, nausea, and anxiety. While over 130 people a day die from an opioid overdose (Health Resources and Services Administration, 2023), death after cannabis use is rare (Rock et al,. 2022). Yet a large portion of patients do not have enough knowledge to use cannabis safely. Although it rarely is reported in medical reconciliation, studies report a range of 24-40% of cancer patients are using cannabis anyway (Swarm et al., 2024) .The unique medical needs of the oncology population make proper dosing a critical safety issue (Goodman & Hammond, 2022). A large portion of nurses are not informed enough to provide this anticipatory guidance. The goal of this study is to bridge that knowledge gap and to facilitate more open communication. Purpose: To determine if an educational intervention will increase nurses' comfort in discussing patients' medical cannabis use. Methods: A cross-sectional, quantitative study with a convenience sample received IRB approval at a single site. Pre-intervention surveys were conducted. A 30 minute slide presentation and discussion was given. This presentation addressed varieties, methods of consumption, dose, frequency, and side effects. Post-intervention surveys were then conducted to test for change. Findings and Interpretations: Nurses reported an increase in comfort levels in discussing cannabis after the intervention. 94% of those surveyed reported an increase in knowledge post-intervention. 89% reported an attitude change post-intervention. This showed how education significantly improved nurses' comfort level. The lack of an existing validated tool to measure this is a limitation. Discussion More cannabis education is needed by nurses. There continues to be a stigma around this topic, which can be remedied by open discussion. The goal of improved communication is an increase in patient safety. A longitudinal study on this same topic could reveal sustained change. Further randomized control trials are needed in this area.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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