# Implementation of Integrative Nursing for Patients With Cancer Receiving Inpatient Care: Protocol for a Convergent Parallel Mixed Methods Evaluation

## TL;DR

This study evaluates how well integrative nursing can be implemented in a hospital for cancer patients and its impact on patients and staff.

## Contribution

The study introduces a theory-based mixed methods protocol for evaluating integrative nursing in inpatient oncology care.

## Key findings

- The study will assess the feasibility and acceptance of integrative nursing interventions from multiple stakeholder perspectives.
- Findings will be integrated to provide insights into how integrative nursing can be sustainably embedded in hospital practice.
- Expected results will offer actionable insights for improving patient-centered supportive care in oncology.

## Abstract

Integrative nursing (IN) involves the application of external naturopathic nursing interventions, such as compresses, embrocations, and therapeutic baths and washes. As part of a university hospital project, patients receiving oncology care in participating wards receive IN interventions as supportive care during their hospital stay as part of a consultation service.

This study aims to investigate the acceptance, feasibility, and contextual conditions of implementing IN in inpatient care and to evaluate perceptions, experiences, and perceived impact of IN interventions from multiple stakeholder perspectives.

We used a convergent parallel mixed methods approach guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. The evaluation consists of 5 substudies reflecting multiple perspectives on the project. Patients, relatives, and hospital staff will participate. Substudies include a single-arm pre-post questionnaire (substudy 1) and semistructured interviews (substudy 2) with patients, a cross-sectional survey of relatives (substudy 3), semistructured interviews with health care professionals (substudy 4), and analysis of project-related documentation (substudy 5). Qualitative data will be analyzed using qualitative content analysis, and quantitative data will be analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical methods.

Following separate analyses of each substudy, the findings will be integrated and triangulated to generate overarching meta-inferences. The recruitment phase lasted from October 2023 to January 2025. Data collection was completed in March 2025. As of October 2025, after data verification and plausibility checks, data analysis is ongoing. The first results are expected to be published in 2026.

This study presents a mixed methods research protocol aimed at exploring the implementation of IN within a university hospital setting. It is expected to provide a theory-based contribution to IN implementation in inpatient care while also offering insights into its potential effects at the patient level. The study is anticipated to advance understanding of how IN can be sustainably embedded in hospital practice and to provide actionable insights for improving patient-centered supportive care.

German Clinical Trials Register DRKS00032318; https://drks.de/search/de/trial/DRKS00032318

DERR1-10.2196/74405