Knowledge, Confidence in Utilization, and Factors Associated with Integration of Genetics and Genomics into Oncology Nursing Practice - Abstract
Purpose: Personalized nursing is becoming the order of the day, hence nurses need to be prepared to engage with genetics and genomics in practice, in order to attend to individual patient needs. There is therefore a need to identify factors that could impede integration of genetics and genomics into practice among nurses working in oncology units of a Nigerian Tertiary hospital, with the aim of providing lasting solutions to them before genetics can be integrated into oncology nursing practice. Design: The descriptive cross-sectional study design, using the in-depth interview was used for the study. The data was recorded, transcribed and grouped into themes and sub themes. Responses to questions were analyzed thematically. Results: Results from the study show that the greatest proportion of the participants were Bachelor of Nursing Science degree holders and 40.0% had 20-29 years of
experience in nursing practice. Responses gotten from assessment of knowledge showed a poor knowledge of genetics and genomics as about 60% of them were not able to associate
it with genes and hereditary. Also, about 95% of the participants implicated the following factors: availability of human resources, time, lack of priority for genetics in healthcare and
healthcare records, shortage of staff, heavy workload, lack of motivation, financial implications, lack of interest on the part of patients among other factors. Conclusion: It is important to identify factors that may impede integration of genetics and genomics into oncology nursing practice, as a way to improve nurses’ readiness for its use in practice.