Study Analysis Conceptual Framework

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Conceptual Framework

The selected study sought to identify the effect of nutritional counselling and oncological nursing care on the health outcomes of colorectal cancer patients (Reiter et al., 2020). The assessed health outcomes were discharge rates, nutritional behaviour, and side effects management. The study divided participants into a control group and two subgroups of the intervention group. The control group received usual care characterized by unsystematic nutrition counselling and no nurse counselling. The first intervention group received systematic in and out patient nutritional counselling and in patient only oncology nurse counselling. The second intervention group received systematic nutritional counselling coupled with in and outpatient oncology nurse counselling. The findings showed that patients receiving in and outpatient nurse counselling as well as systematic nutritional counselling dealt better with treatment side effects, were better at following dieticians’ advice and were better placed to gauge food intolerance. This text discusses the conceptual framework employed in the study to assess its appropriateness.

Conceptual Framework/Theory

The intervention was based on the chronic care health promotion model from Collins and Rochfort’s empowerment concept and Antonovsky’s salutogenesis (as cited in Reiter et al., 2020). The chronic care model suggests that optimum care in a primary acre setting could be created through promoting patient self-management and empowerment. Collins and Rochfort (2014) conceptualize self-management as a set of processes and tasks that a patient uses to manage the impact of a chronic disease. Healthcare organizations could offer self-management support to patient through increasing in clinicians’ skill levels, making better use of IT-based health records, putting emphasis on the delivery of team-based care, and education and support programs for patients to help them manage their illness (Collins & Rochfort, 2014). Through education, healthcare staff thus obtain a platform to increase patients’ confidence and skills, making them better managers of their illness (Collins & Rochfort, 2014). Patient empowerment under the chronic care model involves improving patients’ abilities and skills through knowledge-sharing to drive independent action and autonomic decision-making (Boehmer et al., 2018).

Based on the precepts of Collins and Rochfort’s (2014) model, nurse and nutritional counseling serve as a means to empower patients (through practical guidance and knowledge transfer) to realize effective self-management and improved care. As such, patients who undergo such empowerment will be better able to deal with treatment side effects and colorectal cancer symptoms (Reiter et al., 2020).

Use of The Conceptual Framework in the Study

The study makes use of the theory in two major ways. First, the theory forms the basis for developing the study hypothesis, which states that the intervention systematic nutritional counselling coupled with in and outpatient nursing care improved nutritional behaviour, side effects management, and hospital discharge rates after surgery (Reiter et al., 2020).