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Sunday, February 16, 2014

Effect on symptom control of structured information given to patients receiving chemotherapy

published online 07 October 2013.

Abstract 

Purpose

The performance of a planned education model in patients receiving chemotherapy can alleviate the side effects of chemotherapy and thus can increase the quality of the patients' lives. In accordance with this view, this study was conducted with the purpose of examining the effect of planned education given to patients receiving chemotherapy on their symptom control.

Methods

The study was quasi-experimental. A sample of 120 patients participated, of which 60 were in the experimental group (EG) and 60 were in the control group (CG). A patient data form and the chemotherapy symptom assessment scale (C-SAS) were used in order to collect the data. Median, Mann–Whitney U test and Wilcoxon signed rank test were used to analyze the data.

Results

There were statistically significant decreases in the frequencies of the following symptoms:

 nausea, vomiting, constipation, pain, infectious signs, problems of mouth and throat, problems of skin and nails, appetite changes, weight loss or weight gain, feeling distressed/anxious, feeling pessimistic and unhappy, unusual fatigue, difficulty sleeping. Also, there were statistically significant decreases in the severity of eleven symptoms and on the discomfort levels of nine symptoms.

Conclusion

In the study, the planned education provided by the health-care providers had a positive effect on the symptom control of patients receiving chemotherapy.


 

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