Медики в единственной палестинской больнице Газа соблюдают протоколы безопасности при химиотерапии лишь частично

Nurses at the only cancer treatment facility in the Gaza Strip in Palestine are mostly adhering to chemotherapy safety protocols, according to survey results published in Cancer. “The findings reveal a mixed pattern of compliance, with relatively strong performance in equipment‐related tasks but concerning gaps in critical safety practices,” study researchers reported. “The overall domain scores (71.33%-83.05%) indicate moderate to good compliance with chemotherapy safety protocols, consistent with studies from other low‐resource settings.” Cancer is responsible for 9.4% of deaths in the Gaza Strip, where an Israeli blockade established in 2007 means that specialized oncology care is limited, the researchers noted. For this study, they surveyed nurses at Turkish Palestinian Friendship Hospital, the only dedicated cancer treatment facility for Gaza’s 2.1 million residents, to examine safety practices in a setting affected by prolonged conflict and siege. The researchers invited 110 nurses to take the survey, which was conducted in July and August 2023. Ultimately, 106 nurses agreed to participate, for a response rate of 96.36%. The data were collected using a structured, self‐administered questionnaire adapted from the Nova Scotia Health Authority Chemotherapy, consisting of 47 items across 4 domains: - Safe handling of equipment before administration (7 items) - Safe handling during drug administration (19 items) - Safe disposal of equipment used for cytotoxic administration (11 items) - Safe disposal of cytotoxic body fluids (10 items) Responses were recorded on a 5‐point Likert scale (1 = Never to 5 = Always). Sociodemographic and professional data, including age, gender, qualifications, years of experience, and training history, were collected. About two-thirds of the respondents (66.04%) were male, 54.72% were 31 to 40 years old, and 72.6% held a bachelor’s degree in nursing. Roughly 46% of the respondents had at least 10 years of general nursing experience, but 51% had fewer than 3 years of oncology experience, and less than half (42.5%) reported receiving formal training in chemotherapy handling. Survey respondents demonstrated the highest overall compliance in equipment disposal (83.05%) and safe handling before administration (81.77%), the researchers reported. Scores for safe handling during administration and disposal of cytotoxic body fluids were 71.33% and 72.84%, respectively. The researchers found a significant correlation between age and overall safe behavior scores (F =4.59; P =.012). Respondents aged 41 to 50 years had the highest mean total score [M], at 196.14 (standard deviation [SD], 2.26). Nurses who had received chemotherapy training had superior results in 3 domains compared to those who had not received such training: - Safe handling before administration (85.00% vs 79.33%, t =3.09; P =.003) - Safe handling during administration (75.07% vs 68.57%, t =2.77; P =.007) - Equipment disposal (87.07% vs 80.11%, t =3.72; P <.001) The researchers also found significant variance when assessing scores by respondents’ years of general nursing experience (F =5.65; P =.001). Nurses with 3 years to fewer than 6 years of experience scored the highest (M, 190.52; SD, 14.53). Oncology-specific experience was significantly associated with safe behavior (F =2.80; P =.044). Nurses with at least 10 years of oncology experience performed particularly well compared to those with fewer years of experience (M, 200.00; SD, 0.00). Self‐reporting “tends to overestimate adherence to safety protocols, particularly in high‐risk contexts such as chemotherapy handling,” the researchers noted. They added that the distinction between reported and actual practice is important for policymakers and educators seeking to influence actual behaviors. “[T]his study reveals that although nurses at Gaza’s sole cancer hospital demonstrate foundational knowledge of chemotherapy safety, significant gaps persist, particularly in drug administration techniques and emergency preparedness,” the researchers concluded. “The low rate of formal training and its strong association with safe behaviors highlight a critical intervention point. In conflict‐affected settings like Gaza, where health care systems face compounded challenges, targeted training programs, adequate resource allocation, and context-appropriate protocols are essential for protecting both health care workers and patients.” Disclosures: There was no funding for this study, and study authors reported having no conflicts of interest. Please see the original reference for complete disclosures. This article originally appeared on Cancer Therapy Advisor References: Diab AE-RRM, Aljeesh YI. Assessment of safe chemotherapy handling behaviors among oncology nurses in a conflict-affected setting: A cross-sectional study from Gaza. Cancer. Published online August 5, 2026. doi:10.1002/cncr.70550