Nurses Improve Cancer Survivors’ Well-being

 

A single consultation with a nurse when cancer treatment ends can have a great impact on a patient’s ongoing physical and emotional well-being, according to a new program designed by the Queensland University of Technology School of Nursing and Midwifery.

Participants in a pilot program created to help cancer survivors self-manage their health and emotional concerns have reported a lower need for ongoing information and emotional support, compared with those who did not take part in the program..

“There are a range of post-treatment effects people might experience, in the short term and potentially even in the long term, including fatigue, difficulty sleeping, weight gain or weight loss, menopausal symptoms, and peripheral neuropathy....There are also emotional effects: things like loss of confidence in your body and dealing with a changed perception of your health,” said lead investigator professor Patsy Yates.

The main goal of the research was to develop patients’ skills in handling the many issues themselves, said Yates.

“Self-management is important because when you finish treatment, you do continue to be monitored – usually by your GP – but you no longer have the same regular contact with health professionals that you were having during your treatment,” she said.

According to Yates, the research project supplied nurse oncology care coordinators with the techniques needed to educate patients on self-management skills.

“Nurses who received that training worked with 32 patients to develop end-of-treatment care plans, in a one-off consultation. Within that care plan they focused on the concerns and effects being experienced by each patient, and developed specific strategies to deal with those. The nurses were also available for follow-up phone calls, if required,” said Yates.

A comparison group of 35 patients did not receive this intervention.

Researchers found:

• Of the patients who received the intervention, 64% had no need for further information about how to manage the effects they were experiencing
• Within the comparison group, only 45% felt they had no need for further information
• The need for emotional support had decreased for 34% of the patients who received the intervention
• An increase in the need for emotional support, however, was reported by 7% of those in the comparison group

Yates adds, “We also sent the patients’ care plans to their GPs, who were asked to provide us with some feedback. All of the GPs who responded rated it as being very useful.”

Source: Queensland University of Technology.