Development and Evaluation of Evidence-Informed Clinical Nursing Protocols for Remote Assessment, Triage and Support of Cancer Treatment-Induced Symptoms

Table 5

Principles for clinical nursing protocol template features.

(1) Evidence-based using evidence from appraised clinical practice guidelines
(2) Template should meet the criteria for being a guideline (AGREE II-rigour)
(i) Systematic methods used to search for evidence
(ii) Clear criteria for selecting the evidence (e.g. quality appraised guidelines)
(iii) Methods for formulating the recommendations are described
(iv) Health-related benefits, side effects and risks have been considered
(v) Explicit link between recommendations and the supporting evidence
(vi) Reviewed by experts prior to publication
(3) Usable in practice beyond resource on the shelf
(4) Be able to be integrated into the electronic health record and clinical practice (e.g., uses Edmonton Symptom Assessment System question that is frequently used to screen for symptoms)
(5) Plain language to enhance patients’ health literacy
(6) If assessment criteria and triage for severity is vague or absent from guidelines, use the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events.
(7) Ensure consistency across guidelines (e.g., if blood in vomit listed as severe in the diarrhea guidelines, then it should also be severe on the bleeding guideline)