Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for an estimated 10 million deaths in 2020. Moreover, approximately 19.3 million new cancer diagnoses are made annually (Sung et al., 2021). Although treatment prolongs survival, the adverse effects of treatment may manifest any time thereafter, causing physical and psychosocial distress that may impact negatively on quality of life (Mazzotti et al., 2012).
Precision health refers to "an emerging approach to individualizing health care through the examination of genetic, behavioral, environmental, and individual lifestyle factors (Hacker et al., 2019, p.287)." Precision healthcare in cancer includes symptoms management, self-management, patient-centered treatments, and personalized strategies (Hickey et al., 2019; Lemoine, 2014; Santos et al., 2013; Vorderstrasse et al., 2014; Wujcik, 2016). Symptoms management, related to assessing patients self-reported symptoms, correlates with biological risk and vulnerability to changes in health. More-precisely targeted symptom interventions facilitate the adjustment of behavioral, environmental, and individual lifestyle factors (Lemoine, 2014). Self-management interventions designed to identify more-precise markers (e.g., behavioral, environment, or physiological) help individuals manage their illness and improve their health-related behaviors (Hickey et al., 2019). The patient-centered approach, related to specific education and information on molecular biomarkers, impacts on the efficacy of screening, diagnosis, treatments, adverse drug reactions, and therapeutics in the context of specific cancers (Santos et al., 2013; Wujcik, 2016). Personalized strategies pertain to how personalized information is interpreted, including genetic testing, anticipation of results and treatment, support anxiety, and shared decision making (Vorderstrasse et al., 2014). Precision healthcare challenges oncology nurses and those involved in genomics education to provide sufficient information to cancer patients.
This issue of The Journal of Nursing Research (JNR) presents studies on psychometric testing, diabetes mellitus, coronary artery disease, quality of life, aromatherapy, interdisciplinary collaboration and leadership, and distance education. I hope JNR will be your choice for publishing your scholarly work. We welcome your feedback and suggestions.
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