Barriers and facilitators to giving prehabilitation advice by clinical nurse specialists and advanced nurse practitioners in oncology patients

This is the second article in this series on the knowledge, attitudes and beliefs of clinical nurse specialists (CNSs) and ANPs (advanced nurse practitioners) regarding prehabilitation advice in oncology patients, exploring the barriers and facilitators to giving prehabilitation advice by CNSs and ANPs in oncology patients.

A Cross-sectional online questionnaire opens for 3 months to establish the knowledge, attitudes and beliefs of ANPs and CNSs to prehabilitation disseminated through professional organisations and social media.

The questionnaire gained (n = 415) responses. Prehabilitation advice was routinely given by 89% (n = 371) of respondents. Many (60%) identified a lack of guidance and referral processes as a barrier to giving prehabilitation advice; this corresponded between respondents’ confidence to give prehabilitation advice and subsequent referrals (< 0.001). Other factors included time (61%), a lack of patient interest (44%) and limited relevance to patients (35%).

The implementation of standardised nurse prehabilitation advice resources would enable CNSs and ANPs to provide personalised prehabilitation advice in their consultations.