About
108
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Introduction
Lisa Kennedy Sheldon, PhD, APRN, AOCNP, FAAN, is a cancer care advocate, educator, author and oncology nurse practitioner. Dr Sheldon works with partners in cancer care to develop innovative resources to improve care delivery and patient outcomes. Dr. Sheldon is a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing,
Skills and Expertise
Additional affiliations
January 2016 - present
September 2009 - May 2016
Position
- Asscociate Professor
Description
- Taught in the undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs in nursing with a focus on oncology care and international partnerships.
December 1999 - present
St. Joseph Hospital, New Hampshire
Position
- Oncology Nurse Practitiomer
Education
January 2010 - December 2010
Dana-Farber Harvard Cancer Center/ University of Massachusetts Boston
Field of study
- Health Disparities/Cancer Communication
September 2004 - August 2007
September 1994 - May 1996
Publications
Publications (108)
Worldwide, Islam is the second most populous religion and, in many countries in the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia, and Africa, it is the predominant religion. The population of Muslims in the United States is projected to dramatically increase in the next few decades. Understanding the role of Islam for people who believe in and follow Isla...
Since 2011, oncology nurses and physicians in the United States have been volunteering in Honduras with the International Cancer Corps (ICC), organized by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), in partnership with Health Volunteers Overseas (HVO). In this article, the authors will summarize the work of the ASCO/HVO ICC teams that develop...
Background
Cervical cancer screening is one of the most effective cancer prevention strategies, but most women in Africa have never been screened. In 2007, the Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Services, a large faith-based health care system in Cameroon, initiated the Women's Health Program (WHP) to address this disparity. The WHP provides fee-fo...
Nurses are the majority of the healthcare workforce globally and have the most contact with people at risk for or living after a cancer diagnosis. Cancer care, including prevention, screening, treatment, and survivorship and symptom management and palliative care, and survivorship issues, is provided by nurses. This is especially true in countries...
Aims
This article presents an adapted framework that integrates the Patient Health Engagement (PHE) model with Orem's Nursing Systems theory. The framework highlights the nursing role in encouraging Health Information Technology (HIT) tools, such as secure messaging and patient portals, to enhance patient activation and support their self‐care capa...
https://aging.jmir.org/2023/1/e44777
Background:
Despite the role of health information technology (HIT) in patient engagement processes and government incentives for HIT development, research regarding HIT is lacking among older adults with a high burden of chronic diseases such as cancer. This study examines the role of selected sociodemographi...
The specialty of oncology nursing has been evolving in North America for nearly a century, keeping pace with the rapid and dynamic developments in cancer care. This narrative review outlines the history and development of oncology nursing in North America with a focus on the United States and Canada. The review highlights the important contribution...
Background
The impact of COVID‐19 on cancer care during the first 6 months of the pandemic has been significant. The National Navigation Roundtable Workforce Development Task Group conducted a national survey to highlight the role of patient navigators (PNs).
Methods
An anonymous online survey captured how cancer care navigation changed during 2 p...
Digital health advances have transformed many clinical areas including psychiatric and cardiovascular care. However, digital health innovation is relatively nascent in cancer care, which represents the fastest-growing area of health care spending. Opportunities for digital health innovation in oncology include patient-facing technologies that impro...
As cancer detection and treatment improve, the number of long-term survivors will continue to grow, as will the need to improve their survivorship experience and health outcomes. We need to better understand cancer and its treatment’s short- and long-term adverse consequences, and to prevent, detect, and treat these consequences effectively. Delive...
This article provides an overview of the process, development, and evaluation of the Symptom Science Colloquium sponsored by the National Institute of Nursing Research, Oncology Nursing Society (ONS), and National Cancer Institute. This colloquium was the first of its kind to leverage the common goals of these institutes to advance oncology symptom...
This study investigates the role of Health Information Technology (HIT) in the process of patient engagement in treatment decision making in older adults in cancer care. Despite the role of HIT in patient engagement processes and government incentives for HIT development, research regarding HIT is lacking among older adults. The following study is...
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.2196/25070.].
UNSTRUCTURED
The traditional model of promotion and tenure in the health professions relies heavily on formal scholarship through teaching, research, and service. Institutions consider how much weight to give activities in each of these areas and determine a threshold for advancement. With the emergence of social media, scholars can engage wider au...
Background: The traditional model of promotion and tenure in the health professions relies heavily on formal scholarship through teaching, research, and service. Institutions consider how much weight to give activities in each of these areas and determine a threshold for advancement. With the emergence of social media, scholars can engage wider aud...
BACKGROUND
The traditional model of promotion and tenure in the health professions relies heavily on formal scholarship through teaching, research, and service. Institutions consider how much weight to give activities in each of these areas and determine a threshold for advancement. With the emergence of social media, scholars can engage wider audi...
Cancer in the United States accounts for $600 billion in health care costs, lost work time and productivity, reduced quality of life, and premature mortality. The future of oncology delivery must mend disconnects to equitably improve patient outcomes while constraining costs and burden on patients, caregivers, and care teams. Embedding learning hea...
In Reply We appreciate the thoughts of Ignoffo and Knapp regarding our Viewpoint on overcoming oncology workforce capacity limitations in the US.¹ We agree that nurse practitioners and physician assistants have played significant roles in oncology practices for many years. Our intention was to emphasize their critical role and encourage the concept...
The growth in the number of patients with cancer and cancer survivors in the United States is greatly outpacing the number of clinicians available to care for them. Although age-adjusted cancer incidences and mortality rates are decreasing in the United States, population growth and aging have contributed to a substantial increase in patients requi...
Korean American women have substantially greater incidence rates of cervical cancer and the lowest rates of cervical cancer screening in the United States. However, there has been minimal research to promote human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination among this population. A pilot randomized controlled trial was conducted to evaluate preliminary effect...
Advances in cancer care have led to improved survival, which coupled with demographic trends have contributed to rapid growth in the number of patients needing cancer care services. However, with increasing caseload, care complexity, and administrative burden, the current workforce is ill-equipped to meet these burgeoning new demands. These trends...
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most prevalent sexually transmitted infection that leads to nearly all cervical cancers in the United States (U.S.), which could be prevented with the HPV vaccine. Korean American women experience a high burden of cervical cancer, but little is known about their awareness, knowledge, attitudes, sociocultural factor...
Background:
Oncology nurse navigation opportunities are rapidly expanding as the value of the role is recognized. However, there is a lack of training opportunities focusing on the unique needs of the oncology nurse navigator (ONN). Most navigator training programs provide only general oncology navigation content.
Objectives:
The purpose of this...
Purpose
Recent advances in cancer treatment have resulted in greatly improved survival, and yet many patients in the USA have not benefited due to poor access to healthcare and difficulty accessing timely care across the cancer care continuum. Recognizing these issues and the need to facilitate discussions on how to improve navigation services for...
Changes are underway at the Oncology Nursing Society to align resources so that scientists have the support needed to generate new knowledge and clinicians have access to tools needed to use evidence-based interventions that can speed the translation of research to transform cancer care.
Background:
Oncology nurse practitioners (ONPs) are advanced practice RNs prepared at the graduate level with high-level knowledge and skills in oncology. Because of challenges in educational programs and variability in the scope of practice at the state and institutional level, many ONPs are challenged to practice to the full extent of their educ...
Introduction: Korean American (KA) women are at high risk for human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and cervical cancer, yet they have low awareness and knowledge about HPV vaccine, and subsequently have low HPV vaccine uptake rates. Therefore, it is imperative to develop culturally appropriate education interventions to reduce the health disparitie...
Objective:
The World Health Organization (WHO)'s cervical cancer screening guidelines for limited-resource settings recommend sequential screening followed by same-day treatment under a "screen-and-treat" approach. We aimed to (1) assess feasibility and clinical outcomes of screening HIV-positive and HIV-negative Cameroonian women by pairing visua...
Background and Purpose: Nurse–physician professional communication affects the effectiveness and performance of the health care team and the quality of care delivered to the patient. This study aimed to explore the perspectives and experiences of physicians on nurse–physician professional communication in an urban area of Iran. Methods: Semistructu...
Cannabis has been used for centuries in the treatment of medical conditions. Cannabis has been recommended for appetite, anxiety, depression, sleep, and migraines. However, the stigma associated with cannabis as a recreational drug has created challenges to the legitimacy and social acceptance of cannabis for medical purposes in the United States.
Oncology nurses have worked within the three pillars of cancer care-surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy -for decades. Now, immuno-oncologic (I-O) therapy agents are a new paradigm in cancer treatment. On March 28, 2017, an I-O think tank was held at the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) in Pittsburgh, PA. This think tank was organized in resp...
People who are diagnosed with cancer become our patients, but, by some definitions, they also qualify as cancer survivors and people who may need palliative care. This may be confusing for patients with cancer and for those who define care by oncology setting or specialty. It may be helpful to test these concepts using case studies.
The patient, R.C., finished her chemotherapy for breast cancer on June 4, 2007. At 58, she was ready for a better year, putting cancer treatment behind her and beginning her new life after cancer. In 2014, I was surprised to see R.C. on the schedule for chemotherapy education for
FOLFOX (leucovorin calcium, fluorouracil, and oxaliplatin). Colorect...
There are many traditions on the last day of chemotherapy. It is often a happy time when patients have pictures taken with their oncology nurses and ring the bell as they leave the infusion area. For many, the bell is symbolic of the completion of cancer treatment and the beginning of the rest of their lives as cancer survivors. After the bell, sur...
The International Organization for Migration has noted that migration is the strongest single predictor of HIV risk and prevalence in sub-Saharan Africa. Several major factors affect HIV vulnerability in migrant populations in southern Africa. This paper will address the issues of HIV disease in migrant populations from health-related, sociological...
When Vice President Joe Biden's son, Beau, died of a brain tumor in May 2015, the Vice President's grief was profound. Yet, his grief generated an idea, a big idea: Let's collaborate and focus the talent and resources in our country to eliminate cancer as we know it. When Vice President Biden shared his idea with President Barack Obama in the fall...
Background:
In 2007, the Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Services (CBCHS) implemented a screen-and-treat cervical cancer prevention program using visual inspection with acetic acid enhanced by digital cervicography (VIA-DC).
Methods:
We retrospectively analyzed 46,048 medical records of women who received care through the CBCHS Women's Health...
This issue of the Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing (CJON) will be the final time that you will see the Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) feature column. Why? Because we have seen oncology nursing evolve in the past 20 years and EBP is everywhere! We use it in our clinics and hospital units, incorporate it into decisions about symptom management, an...
Nurses play vital roles in preventing errors and improving the quality of care for patients. However, in the breakthrough Institute of Medicine (IOM) reports, To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System (IOM, 1999) and Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health System for the 21st Century (IOM, 2001), it was estimated that about 44,000-98,000 Ame...
As we in the oncology field know, EOL care is the term used to describe the symptom management, caregiver support, and decisions related to medical care before and surrounding the time of death. This care does not just happen in the moments before breathing stops and the heart ceases to beat. Rather, patients are often living with chronic illness f...
The American healthcare system is evolving with financial incentives to decrease hospitalizations, trim lengths of stay, prevent re-admissions and provide more comprehensive services in outpatient settings. Clinical models linking health care with acute care settings are continually criticized for not meeting the current needs of patients with chro...
Today, I am writing for the first time as the new editor of the Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing (CJON). It is my honor to assume this role from my colleague and mentor, Deborah K. Mayer, PhD, RN, AOCN®, FAAN. For eight years, Deb served as the editor of one of the most widely read journals in oncology nursing, CJON.
.
Most breast cancer survivors (BCSs) experience sexual dysfunction from treatment-induced hormonal changes, making sexual assessment an important component of survivorship care. However, because many oncology healthcare providers do not perform such assessment, a number of BCSs endure unidentified sexual dysfunction. Barriers to assessment faced by...
This study investigated racial disparities in postsurgical health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Data were collected by the Cancer Care Outcomes Research and Surveillance Consortium. Inclusion criteria were greater than or equal to 21 years of age, NSCLC, and receipt of surgery. HRQOL data we...
The World Health Organization recommends visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) for cervical cancer screening in resource-limited settings. In Cameroon, we use digital cervicography (DC) to capture images of the cervix after VIA. This study evaluated interobserver agreement of DC results, compared DC with histopathologic results, and examined int...
Background: Communication between healthcare providers and patients affects patient care and safety. Nurses develop communication skills at the undergraduate level, after graduation and throughout their practice. This study explored perspectives of new graduates on the development and implementation of communication skills within the first six mont...
Objectives: Invasive cervical cancer (ICC) is the second leading cause of cancer mortality among women in Cameroon. To decrease the burden of ICC, the Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Services (CBCHS) implemented the World Health Organization-endorsed “see-and-treat” cervical cancer screening program using visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA)...
Pediatric pain assessment is a significant issue yet the topic is understudied. Unique challenges, namely reporting biases, are present when assessing pain in children. The aim of this review of the literature is to increase awareness of biases when assessing pain in children, suggest changes in practice, and state priorities for future research. F...
Objective:
Psychosocial concerns arise after a cancer diagnosis and during treatment requiring oncology clinicians to initiate discussions to identify distress. This study examined patient-clinician communication about psychosocial concerns and predictors of assessment and treatment/referral for distress.
Methods:
Secondary analysis of existing...
Problem: Cameroon has a disproportionately high burden of cervical cancer due to low awareness that the disease is preventable with prophylactic vaccines, lack of screening and treatment of pre-cancerous lesions, and high prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Between 2007-2013, the Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Services (CBCHS) dev...
This study used qualitative data collection and analysis methods to describe provider perceptions of addressing patient-initiated communication about common or sensitive symptom and quality of life issues (SQIs) in oncology. Eligible participants were health care providers who had participated in a larger trial testing a patient-centered technology...
Background: Communication between healthcare providers and patients affects patient care and safety. Nurses develop communication skills at the undergraduate level, after graduation and throughout their practice. This study explored perspectives of new graduates on the development and implementation of communication skills within the first six mont...
Oncology nurses know that improving quality of life is essential for patients with cancer. Optimizing quality of life requires excellence in symptom management, such as relief from physical symptoms (e.g., pain), as well as addressing the psychosocial and spiritual needs of patients and their families. Improving quality of life and relieving suffer...
Standards released by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer program in 2012 call for all patients with cancer to have access to palliative care and for institutions to provide skilled and coordinated care as patients traverse through multiple healthcare settings. Many healthcare providers do not understand what palliative care can p...
The present paper is a longitudinal study which aims to develop and deliver cancer nursing education conferences in Honduras using volunteer nurse educators. This program intends to (1) perform site assessments of work environments and resources for cancer care in Honduras, (2) develop cancer nursing education programs, (3) survey conference partic...
Introduction:
Surgical resection currently is the best available treatment to enhance long-term survival after non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). With the anticipated growth in the number of NSCLC survivors diagnosed through computed tomography screening, health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) as an endpoint of treatment will become increasingly...
Stem cell transplant (SCT) is a treatment choice for many hematological malignancies. There is currently a lack of evidence regarding the self-reported concerns of SCT patients before and after SCT. AIM AND DESIGN: This exploratory study performed a secondary analysis of self-reported, written concerns of SCT patients before and after transplant to...
In December 2011, the first delegation of oncology nurses from the United States visited Havana, Cuba. The delegation included oncology nurses, educators, and leaders from across America and provided opportunities to learn about the healthcare system, cancer, and oncology nursing in Cuba. Delegation members attended lectures, toured facilities, and...
Oncology nurses have always known that a diagnosis of cancer impacts the psychosocial well-being of a person. And, often, oncology nurses are the ones who detect psychosocial concerns in patients, as well as noticing changes-often subtle differences in a patient's usual manner-which require further assessment and possibly referral or treatment.
Oncology nurses know the importance of helping patients with cancer cope with their diagnosis and treatment. The impact of the disease and complex treatment regimens affects patients and families on many levels and often results in psychosocial concerns. The Oncology Nursing Society has been a national leader in advocating for complete care of pati...
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Background: Developing countries face a heavy cancer burden. Nurses in oncology care are challenged by lack of resources and training to care for these patients. Volunteer nurses from other nations have been used as clinician/educators on service trips organized by ASCO’s International Cancer Corps and Health Volunteers Overseas. In 2011, a...
: Helical computed tomography (CT) has emerged as a potential screening test for lung cancer. An important component of care surrounding the use of this technology is the impact of screening on decisions surrounding smoking cessation.
: The aim of this article was to conduct an integrative review of literature on the impact of lung cancer screening...
Overview
Patient–provider communication is vital to quality patient care in oncology settings and impacts health outcomes. Newer communication datasets contain patient symptom reports, real-time audiofiles of visits, coded communication data, and visit outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to: (1) review the complex communication processes during...
Commentary on: LangewitzWHeydrichLNüblingM. Swiss Cancer League communication skills training programme for oncology nurses: an evaluation.J Adv Nurs2010;66:2266–77.
To explore healthcare provider cue-responding behaviors to patient cues of distress and socioemotional concerns during ambulatory, on-treatment oncology visits.
Descriptive secondary analysis of a data set of audio recordings of oncology visits and reports of symptoms and quality of life recorded with an electronic self-report assessment-cancer (ES...
The 36th Annual Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) Congress will be held April 28 through May 1, 2011, in Boston, MA. New regulations have changed how healthcare organizations and professional societies such as ONS may run conferences. Conference participants probably will notice the changes.
PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To explore healthcare provider cue-responding behaviors to patient cues of distress and socioemotional concerns during ambulatory, on-treatment oncology visits.
DESIGN: Descriptive secondary analysis of a data set of audio recordings of oncology visits and reports of symptoms and quality of life recorded with an electronic self-...
Comprehensive cancer care continues to improve in the United States, but many developing countries carry a high cancer burden. With limited resources, nurses in such countries often are unable to improve cancer detection and treatment or relieve patient suffering. The Oncology Nursing Society has developed collaborative relationships with many inte...
Aims: (1) To explore provider responses to patient distress using sequential analysis (2) To examine the impact of printouts of electronic self report assessment-cancer (ESRA-C) on provider behaviors.
Methods: Secondary analysis of existing audiofiles with coding and sequential analysis of patient-provider communication during ambulatory, on trea...
It is well accepted that communication skills are essential to providing optimal care in the oncology setting. Provider use of behaviors that facilitate disclosure of emotional concerns has been shown to decrease patient distress, a common response to a cancer diagnosis. Many of these emotionally laden conversations are spontaneous and arise during...
Series of five disease-specific manuals to improve care and continuity across the trajectory of cancer care and survivorship.
This theoretically based study examined nurse responses to cancer patient expressions of emotion using a videotaped, simulated cancer patient.
This study used an experimental crossover design with a videotaped patient expressing anger, sadness, and neutral emotion to elicit nurse responses. Seventy-four nurses from eight sites participated. Respons...
The principal objective of this study was to characterize how nurses and pharmacists at a poison control center (PCC) determine the likelihood of caller adherence to a health care facility referral.
A focus group was conducted with 6 nurses and 4 pharmacists from a regional PCC. Content analysis was used to determine themes within the discussion. A...
As patients are increasingly involved in the selection of their care, communication between health care providers and patients takes on new importance. The present article reviews the most common approaches to improve patient communication, distinguishing among patient-directed and provider-directed approaches, as well as introducing multimedia pro...
Clinician communication is critical to positive outcomes for patients and families in most health contexts. Researchers have investigated areas such as defining and teaching effective communication and identifying specific outcomes that can be improved through more effective communication. In the area of cancer care, advances in detection and treat...
Anxiety is a common form of distress that oncology nurses often observe in their patients. The incidence of anxiety may be as high as 50% in recently diagnosed patients and may persist into survivorship. How nurses respond to patients experiencing distress and anxiety influences further assessment of the patient's concerns, identification of anxiet...
Questions
Questions (2)
Communication skills develop, probably over years, from rules in curricula to context-dependent behaviors in clinical situations. We just presented a panel on five studies regarding communication skills training and the realities of clinical practice at the 2014 conference of Communication, Medicine and Ethics. We found a disconnect between the foundational skills taught in the curricula and the reality of talking with patients and families in clinical settings. How do we create a more developmental approach to teaching communication skills from formal education to independent practice in the healthcare professions?
We are developing a research study to improve communication between providers and women to increase cervical cancer screening in a low resource country. However, there are concerns about maintaining privacy and confidentiality. We welcome ideas to address this issue in any setting.
