PITTSBURGH, PA—September 10, 2020—Resources that can be used by nurses and other oncology healthcare professionals, patients, and policymakers to improve the care of patients with cancer, were recently launched by the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) in its first set of five systematically reviewed clinical practice ONS Guidelines™ for managing cancer treatment-related side effects.

Created with rigorous methodology, the guidelines incorporate published research with expert consensus on the certainty of the evidence, the balance of benefits and harms, and patient preferences and values. In developing the guidelines, the expert panel, comprised of nurses, interprofessional colleagues and patients, used the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation) approach to assess the evidence and make recommendations in compliance with the Guideline International Network (GIN)–McMaster Guideline Development Checklist and National Academy of Medicine standards. Multiple resources accompany each guideline, such as reviews that formed the evidence base and a clinical summary.

“ONS has long been the source of evidence-based oncology nursing practice across the globe,” ONS President Nancy Houlihan, MA, RN, AOCN®, said. “I'm proud of the interdisciplinary collaboration, which included patient representation, and attention to detail that went into the development of these guidelines and encourage all nurses to use these valuable resources in practice. Development of these guidelines for cancer-specific symptom management raises the bar for ensuring best practices in cancer care delivery to our patients.”

The new guidelines build on ONS’s first evidence-based symptom management recommendations, which were launched in 2006 and positioned ONS as an expert resource for symptom management during and after cancer treatment. As with all ONS resources, the guidelines show ONS’s commitment to promoting the highest quality of cancer care. For more information on ONS Guidelines, visit ons.org/ons-guidelines. 

ONS is a professional association that represents 100,000 nurses and is the professional home to more than 35,000 members. ONS is committed to promoting excellence in oncology nursing and the transformation of cancer care. Since 1975, ONS has provided a professional community for oncology nurses, developed evidence-based education programs and treatment information, and advocated for patient care, all in an effort to improve quality of life and outcomes for patients with cancer and their families. Learn more at ons.org.

Media Contact: Nicole Lininger
nlininger@ons.org