Fertility Preservation in Patients With Cancer: Nurses' Views, Experiences, and Perceptions of Benefits and Barriers.

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate nurses' views, experiences, and perceptions of the benefits and barriers to fertility preservation (FP) care for patients with cancer.

Sample & setting: The sample consisted of 236 nurses who provided care before gonadotoxic treatment for people with cancer in three university hospitals in Istanbul, Turkey, from January to June 2018.

Methods & variables: The data were collected using a participant information form and the Oncology FP Survey. The main research variables were nurses' views, experiences, and perceptions of benefits and barriers to FP care. Data were evaluated using means, SDs, frequencies, and the Mann-Whitney U test.

Results: Patients and their families were informed about FP most of the time. This information was given by physicians about half the time and by nurses less than one-fourth of the time. Mean scores on the Oncology FP Survey were moderate and indicated challenges among nurses in self-confidence, self-awareness of personal limitations, and perceived barriers when providing effective FP care.

Implications for nursing: Nurses face challenges in providing counseling about FP options for patients with cancer and their families. Increasing self-confidence, reducing personal limitations, and decreasing perceived barriers to FP care through appropriate training may improve nurses' ability to provide FP counseling.