The use of symptom scales in oncology nursing for palliative care: a bibliometric review

Keywords

oncology nursing - scales - Palliative Care

Introduction: The use of scales in nursing, especially in oncology palliative care, is essential to evaluate and monitor patients' symptoms, ensuring more effective interventions by professionals. With the increase in cancer patients receiving palliative care, there is a growing need for validated instruments to assist healthcare professionals.

Objectives: To identify and analyze in scientific literature the use of scales in nursing to assess symptoms in oncological palliative care.

Methodology: This is a quantitative bibliometric study conducted in English and Portuguese in the Medline and Scopus databases, taking 2019 to 2024 as a time frame. Among the 269 articles identified in the searches, 65 aligned with the study's objective. The following steps for the study were defined: problem formulation; search in databases; analysis; thorough reading; and selection of articles.

Results: 65 articles were selected, revealing a geographic diversity in the validation of psychometric scales in oncological palliative care, with emphasis on the United States, which contributed 18.46% of the studies, Italy with 10.77%, and Japan and China together accounted for 23.08% of articles, highlighting the growing interest in specific cultural validations, such as the Japanese version of the Integrated Palliative Care Outcome Scale (IPOS). A gap was identified in the creation of scales specifically aimed at oncological symptoms, as few studies have developed measurement tools dedicated to this condition. Complex interventions such as non-pharmacological programs to prevent delirium and the integration of pain nursing with palliative care are innovative approaches but appear less frequently. Of the 65 articles, 21 were specific to the nursing area, and the prevalence was systematic review studies (44.6%).

Conclusion: The research reveals a lack of scales specifically developed to assess symptoms in oncological palliative care, indicating the need for targeted psychometric tools. The predominance of studies in some countries highlights the importance of expanding research to different cultural contexts. In Brazil, the lack of adapted scales highlights the urgency of developing and validating appropriate instruments to guarantee effective care for cancer patients in palliative care.

Corresponding author: Catherine Cordeiro Filetti (e-mail: [e-mail]).

 

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No conflict of interest has been declared by the author(s).

Publication History

Article published online:
06 May 2025