Background: Education plays a pivotal role in the care of oncological patients, reducing health costs, hospital readmission, and disease relapses. Education can be supportive in achieving multiple outcomes, improving symptom control and quality of life. A new approach is emerging in patient education: gamification. Gamification was defined as the “use of game elements in non-game contexts”, including the application of games in serious contexts. The aim of this review is to explore the use of gamification in the oncology setting. Methods: A systematic scoping review was conducted in the MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsychINFO, Embase, Scopus, and Cochrane Library databases using the JBI guidelines. Results: The 13 included reports were critically appraised by two reviewers independently. It seems that gamification could be effective both in prevention and cancer treatments. Gamification also seems to improve chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting management, quality of life, and reduced anxiety levels in different cancer groups. Moreover, gamification seems effective in improving self-care in cancer patients, regardless of gender, age, and ethnicity. Conclusions: Gamification improves patient engagement and biopsychosocial outcomes and could represent a valid approach to cancer patient education; however, it is not a substitute for healthcare professionals, who remain the leaders in the education process.

Background: Urinary incontinence (UI) has been identified as a World Health Organization health priority. In particular, urge UI (UUI) refers to urine leakage associated with a sudden and compelling desire to void urine. It affects quality of life more than other kinds of UI, but it is not always treated adequately. For these reasons, this study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of conservative treatment practices to counteract UUI in women aged 40–65 years old. Methods: This systematic review was conducted following the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology. According to the protocol registered in PROSPERO, a systematic search was carried out in the CINAHL, Embase, PubMed, PsycInfo, Scopus and Web of Science databases up to October 2022, to find primary studies meeting the inclusion criteria. Results: Fourteen studies were included. The scientific literature reported different strategies dealing with the problem of UUI, some purely physical, others physical and psycho-educational and others exclusively psychological. Conclusion: Conservative treatments are useful to aid the reduction in UUI episodes in middle-aged women. However, none of them can be considered more effective than others due to the impossibility of conducting meta-analytical analyses. Further studies comparing the effectiveness of conservative treatments for UUI are needed.

Introduction: Urinary and fecal incontinence, as well as the presence of an ostomy, are globally prevalent conditions with substantial implications for individuals’ daily lives. Among the psychological consequences, social isolation is a frequently reported experience but remains poorly explored in the existing literature. The aim of this scoping review is to explore how social isolation has been conceptualized and operationalized in research on individuals with incontinence and to synthesize evidence on its antecedents and outcomes. Methods: This review was conducted in accordance with the Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines and reported following the PRISMA-ScR checklist. Data were thematically synthesized and interpreted according to the Middle Range Theory of Social Isolation in Chronic Illness. Results: Twenty-three studies met the inclusion criteria. Findings indicate that social isolation among individuals with incontinence is a complex, multifactorial phenomenon. Predisposing factors included individual needs for social interaction and desire for approval, psychological resilience, toilet accessibility, education, income, gender, and age. Precipitating factors were related to illness trajectory and adaptation processes, including ostomy acceptance, time since ostomy creation or oncological treatment, sense of belonging, perceived social support, stigma, self-esteem, clinical severity, illness-related conditions, and loss of autonomy. Reported outcomes were consistently adverse, encompassing depression, anxiety, and reduced quality of life. Conclusions: Social isolation represents a core dimension of the lived experience of incontinence and should be recognized as a key clinical outcome. Systematic screening and targeted interventions should be integrated into continence care pathways. Future research should adopt longitudinal and interventional designs to clarify causal mechanisms and evaluate strategies to prevent and mitigate isolation.

Background: The Nursing Work Environment (NWE) plays a critical role in determining the quality of care, staff well-being, and organizational performance, particularly in oncology settings. Despite increasing attention, a comprehensive synthesis of organizational factors shaping oncology NWEs has been lacking. This scoping review aimed to describe the key features of oncology NWEs and to explore the outcomes associated with these characteristics. Methods: A scoping review was conducted following the Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines. Peer-reviewed studies published in English or Italian were included without time restrictions. Literature searches were performed in MEDLINE via PubMed, CINAHL, and Scopus between January and April 2025. Results: Twenty studies met the inclusion criteria. Key organizational characteristics of oncology NWEs were grouped into the following four domains: leadership and organizational support; workload and resource availability; ethical climate and collegial relationships; and physical and structural conditions of care settings. Across the studies, a positive NWE was frequently reported to be associated with improved nurse-related outcomes and, to a lesser extent, with patient-related outcomes. However, these associations should be interpreted with caution due to the heterogeneity of contexts and the predominance of cross-sectional designs. Conclusions: The NWE is a strategic element in delivering effective, safe, and sustainable oncology care. Practical actions for nurse managers and healthcare leaders include implementing leadership training programs, ensuring adequate staffing and resource allocation, fostering open communication, and promoting interdisciplinary collaboration. These measures are essential to protect staff well-being and guarantee high-quality, patient-centered care.