JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Integrative nursing (IN) involves the application of external naturopathic nursing interventions, such as compresses, embrocations, and therapeutic baths and washes. While experts' internal evidence supports IN, external evidence remains limited. However, there is a growing synthesis of evidence in the field of IN, both in general and in relation to specific symptoms. As part of a university hospital project, oncology patients on project-related wards received IN interventions as supportive care during their hospital stay within the scope of counseling.

Objective:

The present study aims to investigate the acceptance, feasibility, and implementation conditions of integrating IN for inpatients respecting multiple perspectives, and to evaluate perceptions, experiences, and benefits.

Methods:

The study employs a convergent parallel mixed methods approach and utilizes the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research as its theoretical framework. This evaluation study will consist of five sub-studies that reflect multiple perspectives on the project. Patients, relatives, and hospital staff will participate in the study. The sub-studies will include a single-arm pre-post questionnaire (sub-study 1) and semi-structured interviews (sub-study 2) with patients, a cross-sectional survey of their relatives (sub-study 3), semi-structured interviews with the nursing and medical staff (sub-study 4), and a project-related documentation (sub-study 5). The analysis of qualitative data will be conducted through qualitative content analysis, while quantitative data will be analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics.

Results:

After analyzing the data separately, the sub-study results will be integrated and triangulated to generate meta-inferences. The recruitment phase was initiated in October 2023. As of March 2025, the data collection is ongoing, and data analysis has not yet commenced.

Conclusions:

The present article expounds upon a mixed-methods research protocol aimed to elucidate the implementation of IN in a university hospital setting. The study's results will offer a theory-based contribution to the implementation of IN for inpatients. The study will also examine its initial effects at the patient level. Clinical Trial: The trial was registered with the German Trials Register (DRKS): DRKS00032318.