Examining clinical supervision as a mechanism for changes in practice: a research protocol

How do radiation therapists detect and manage patients experiencing anxiety in the radiation oncology setting? A vignette study

PURPOSE

Anxiety is commonly observed in oncology patients but infrequently screened, assessed or addressed. According to psychosocial guidelines, all healthcare professionals, including radiation therapists, are responsible for the psychosocial care of patients. Radiation therapists (RTs) interact with patients daily throughout treatment; however, little research exists to evaluate RTs' ability to identify and manage patients' psychosocial needs. This study aimed to determine if RTs can detect and manage patient anxiety.

METHOD

A cross-sectional, mixed-methods survey containing two clinically relevant vignettes was developed. Two fictitious patients were presented to elicit responses reflective of RTs' experiences and judgements in the recognition and management of anxiety. Surveys were distributed via email in Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Ethical approval was obtained from the University of Sydney (2016/227) and informed consent was obtained from participants.

RESULTS

Eligible and complete surveys were received from 582 respondents (240 (41.2%) from Australia; 78 (13.4%) New Zealand; 264 (45.4%) Canada). Almost all respondents endorsed a relevant descriptor of anxiety (vignette 1, 577 (99.1%); vignette 2, 579 (99.5%)). For both vignettes, the most frequently endorsed management strategy was to acknowledge the patients' feelings and encourage them to express their concerns (vignette 1, 548 (94.2%); vignette 2, 455 (78.2%)).

CONCLUSION

RTs in Australia, New Zealand and Canada are able to detect anxiety and endorse a strategy to manage patients experiencing anxiety depicted in written vignettes. Exploring RTs' abilities to detect and manage patient anxiety whilst in the high-pressure clinical environment is an important next step.

Clinical supervision in oncology: A narrative review

The aim of this narrative literature review is to (a) review all empirical studies of clinical supervision (CS) in oncology and to (b) highlight some CS practice issues distinctive to cancer care. This review identified empirical studies related to qualified professionals and published in English since 1995 that connected to CS and oncology. A total of 15 studies were identified with the majority as small scale, exploratory and qualitative. Psychologists were predominantly utilised as facilitators of the CS with varied sample sizes ranging from 5-230 participants. The studies were grouped into three main categories; the impact of supervision on staff, impact of supervision on professional care/development and impact of supervision in existential exploration. This review highlighted the positive impact of CS while demonstrating the need for more methodologically sound programmes of research into CS in cancer settings so detailed models of effective supervision can develop and thereby inform practice.

The "Ideal" Clinical Supervision Environment in Nursing and Allied Health

Background

The importance of effective clinical supervision for emerging clinicians is well recognised, not only for practice preparation, but also for reducing future attrition rates. Also recognised are the challenges faced by both students and supervisors during the supervision experience. This study aimed to identify the qualities of the “ideal” clinical supervision environment from the perspective of clinical supervisors from both nursing and allied health.

Design

A qualitative study using an interview method based on action research.

Methods

The convergent interview method was used with 20 clinical supervisors and educators from nursing and allied health across Victoria. Interviews were recorded and data analysis occurred at the end of each pair of interviews to develop deeper questions in line with the method.

Results

12 major themes emerged as “ideal” qualities with a range of suggestions on how these can be achieved.

Conclusion

The “ideal” qualities can be used in assessing and improving current contexts, as well as designing new clinical supervision processes, models, programs and guidelines or policies. The convergent interview method allowed for deeper level analysis than previous research.

Stepped wedge cluster randomised trials: a review of the statistical methodology used and available

BACKGROUND

Previous reviews have focussed on the rationale for employing the stepped wedge design (SWD), the areas of research to which the design has been applied and the general characteristics of the design. However these did not focus on the statistical methods nor addressed the appropriateness of sample size methods used.This was a review of the literature of the statistical methodology used in stepped wedge cluster randomised trials.

METHODS

Literature Review. The Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL and Cochrane databases were searched for methodological guides and RCTs which employed the stepped wedge design.

RESULTS

This review identified 102 trials which employed the stepped wedge design compared to 37 from the most recent review by Beard et al. 2015. Forty six trials were cohort designs and 45 % (n = 46) had fewer than 10 clusters. Of the 42 articles discussing the design methodology 10 covered analysis and seven covered sample size. For cohort stepped wedge designs there was only one paper considering analysis and one considering sample size methods. Most trials employed either a GEE or mixed model approach to analysis (n = 77) but only 22 trials (22 %) estimated sample size in a way which accounted for the stepped wedge design that was subsequently used.

CONCLUSIONS

Many studies which employ the stepped wedge design have few clusters but use methods of analysis which may require more clusters for unbiased and efficient intervention effect estimates. There is the need for research on the minimum number of clusters required for both types of stepped wedge design. Researchers should distinguish in the sample size calculation between cohort and cross sectional stepped wedge designs. Further research is needed on the effect of adjusting for the potential confounding of time on the study power.