Restoration planning: Reintegration of CTNS into the community, post-COVID era Meeting Abstract
| Authors: | Llamozas, J.; Evans, L. |
| Abstract Title: | Restoration planning: Reintegration of CTNS into the community, post-COVID era |
| Meeting Title: | 47th Annual Congress of the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) |
| Abstract: | Mexican immigrants have lower rates of cancer screening than other Latino populations. In 2015, cancer was the leading cause of premature death among Latinos. Increasing awareness to Mexican Latino population is achieved through promotion of early detection cancer and preventative health screenings at the Mexican Consulate of NYC. During the COVID-19 pandemic outreach was suspended resulting in loss of access to preventive health screenings to this at-risk population. The purpose of this project was to describe how Clinical Trials Nurses (CTNs) spearheaded the return to in-person community outreach by adapting institutional workflows to the community setting, while ensuring safety for participants and staff. During restoration planning, there was limited guidance on resuming activities in the field. CTN in collaboration with the Nurse Leader adapted institutional restoration guidelines for use at the Mexican Consulate. A COVID-19 symptom screening tool was created and performed before participants were permitted onsite. Screening appointments were scheduled to avoid crowding the waiting room. Furniture was rearranged to allow for social distancing. Safety measures were put in place such as use of personal protective equipment, temperature checks, proper ventilation and limiting time the CTN spent per participant. Onsite staffing was limited to one nurse, only performing activities that could not be completed remotely, such as screening tests. Intake forms and referrals for social and health-related services were completed virtually. The workflow was submitted to the Hospital Incident Command System (HICS) for approval to resume community cancer screenings. In December 2020 we were approved by HICS to resume outreach activities and did so without any known transmission of COVID-19 to staff or participants. We screened 246 participants and recruited 113 new participants to outreach studies since returning onsite. Resuming in-person activities in the community is crucial to connecting at-risk communities with preventative screenings. Nurses can advocate for resuming screening and outreach activities to ensure that vulnerable populations are not overlooked post-pandemic. Institutional protocols can be safely adapted to community settings and set a standard for safe nursing practice. |
| Keywords: | cancer screening; risk assessment; early detection of cancer; clinical trials; nursing role; california; community health services; neoplasms -- familial and genetic; neoplasms -- risk factors; congresses and conferences -- california; covid-19 pandemic; clinical research nurses |
| Journal Title: | Oncology Nursing Forum |
| Volume: | 49 |
| Issue: | 2 |
| Meeting Dates: | 2022 Apr 27-May 1 |
| Meeting Location: | Anaheim, CA |
| ISSN: | 0190-535X |
| Publisher: | Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) |
| Date Published: | 2022-03-01 |
| Start Page: | E32 |
| End Page: | E33 |
| Language: | English |
| DOI: | 10.1188/22.Onf.E2 |
| PROVIDER: | EBSCOhost |
| PROVIDER: | cinahl |
| PUBMED: | 35191905 |
| DOI/URL: | |
| Notes: | Meeting Abstract: P56 -- in PDF named "2022 ONS Congress Poster Abstracts" -- Source: Cinahl |
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