Oncology Nurse AdvisorOncology Nurses Support Home-Based Cancer Treatment but Cite Safety Concerns

⚠️ Small Study / Early Comparative Evidence

A descriptive qualitative study explored oncology nurses’ perspectives on home-based parenteral antineoplastic administration through interviews with nine nurses at a Swedish hospital oncology daycare ward in October–November 2022. Participants described opportunities for individualized care but emphasized adverse-event management, solitary working, and resource constraints. The findings identify perceived implementation needs; they do not establish treatment safety, patient benefit, or which regimens are suitable for home administration.

Clinical Considerations

• Adverse-event response dominated concerns, particularly unpredictable reactions without immediate access to colleagues or physicians.
• Home conditions introduced workspace, ergonomic, privacy, equipment-transport, and hazardous-waste concerns beyond medication administration.
• Patient choice remained important; participants did not view home treatment as appropriate or preferable for everyone.
• Proposed safeguards included training, emergency support, clear accountability, suitable equipment, and reliable electronic-record access.
• Evidence boundaries: one setting, no patient or public contribution, and no comparative safety or outcome evaluation.

Practice Applications

• Review local escalation pathways and backup arrangements when discussing home-treatment readiness.
• Discuss workspace, privacy, waste handling, and treatment-location preferences during care planning.
• Clarify nursing responsibilities and prescribing accountability within established service protocols.
• Interpret proposed safeguards as interview-derived priorities, not a validated implementation checklist.