Safety in professional nursing care for oncology patients in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic required nursing professionals to focus their attention on

safeguarding the integrity, safety and health of cancer patients as well as their own.

Objective: To analyze safety perception of professional nursing care for cancer patients during the

COVID-19 contingency.

Material and methods: Descriptive, cross-sectional observational study. Sample of 50 nursing professionals. Measurement was made according to the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety instrument adapted to the COVID-19 contingency context. The results were analyzed through descriptive statistics.

Results: The safety level of professional nursing care for cancer patients during COVID-19 contingency was acceptable in 11 of 16 dimensions, according to the following scale: very poor, poor, acceptable, very good and excellent. Opportunity areas to improve safety of professional nursing care were identified: patient safety is put at risk when work pressure increases, staffing is not sufficient enough to deal with workload due to the pandemic, optimal patient care cannot be provided because of exhausting work schedules.

Conclusions: Nursing professionals provide acceptable care for cancer patients during the pandemic, since they declare they have an adequate and functional action protocol that makes them feel secure; however, there are factors such as vulnerability, protective equipment and lack of personnel that influence this degree of safety.