Oncology teaching in undergraduate nursing at public institutions courses in Brazil

Abstract

Objectives: to identify the occurrence of oncology teaching in undergraduate nursing curricula. Methods: descriptive study, which data was obtained from curriculum and from Pedagogical Course Projects available on the websites from Brazilian public institutions, between June and July 2020. Results: 143 undergraduate nursing courses were identified. From them, 132 nursing courses (corresponding to 89 education institutions) had available the curriculum and/or Pedagogical Course Projects. Only 7 (5.3%) of them had oncology as a mandatory subject, 4 of them in the Midwest Region. Only 35 (26.5%) had elective subject in Oncology, most of them in the Northeast (45.7%). Conclusions: on third of nursing courses at public institutions has Oncology subject in the curriculum, which is few considering the high incidence and mortality from cancer in the country. The findings contribute for discussions, in curricular accommodation, on the relevance of oncology teaching in nursing curricula.