King's College London , Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery , Nursing in Colorectal Cancer International Project (NICCI)

`Nursing in Colorectal Cancer Initiative Project' (NICCI) a European Oncology Nursing Society's (EONS) study led by Professor Alison Richardson based at the Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery at King's College London and sponsored by Zeneca Pharmaceuticals. The project was a study of health professional practice in Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, UK and USA and was designed to improve nursing for colorectal cancer patients by improving education, and reviewing the role of nurses by examining nurse communication, the involvement of patients and families in treatment and care, and successful delivery of chemotherapy. The project was made up of three phases: education, research and implementation. The first phase involved producing and reviewing an education pack for nurses dealing with colorectal cancer patients. The second phase involved defining the goals of nursing practice and carrying out an audit in the participating countries on current practices and areas for change. The final phase involved implementing the necessary changes identified in the initial two stages. NICCI produced an educational pack for nurses printed in six languages and a clinically researched tool for auditing the standards of nursing care for colorectal cancer. This tool is also translated and disseminated through the nursing network. The project ran from 1998-2001.
Publications: A Nurse's Guide to Colorectal Cancer, NICCI/AstraZeneca Oncology (2000).