Scientific Crisis in Radiation Therapy and Cancer Patient Care and Safety

Abstract

Radiation therapy uses ionizing radiation to eradicate cancer from the body. In the last decade, the adoption of new technology significantly increased the sophistication by which radiation treatments are planned and delivered. New technology offers important benefits to patients and has significantly altered the social, or human, interfaces of the treatment environment. With a commitment to the positivist paradigm and quantitative research design, the medical field failed to respond quickly during a recent radiation overdose crisis that threaten cancer patient care and safety. This essay uses Kuhn’s concept of the structure of scientific revolutions to discuss the radiation overdose crisis. It uses information transfer theories and models to explain and pin-point knowledge transfer as it applies to clinical practice in radiation therapy, information science, and medical librarianship. It suggests a new approach to research combining quantitative and qualitative research designs to expand creation of knowledge, improve clinical practices, and better support safe and accurate care of cancer patients.