Intervention of Humanized Nursing Accompaniment and Quality of Life in People with Advanced Cancer

Abstract

Objective: To assess the effect of an intervention of humanized nursing accompaniment, at home, on the quality of life of people with advanced cancer and of their family caregivers. Method: Pre-experimental study with pre- and post-intervention measurements. The intervention included home visits, internet platform, and telephone contact for three months. The sample was comprised of 17 patient-caregiver dyads. The data analysis was descriptive and correlational. Results: The study obtained a large magnitude of the effect of the intervention, in the global health of the person with cancer, with highly significant differences between the pre- and post-intervention, besides the decrease of symptoms, like fatigue and dyspnea. In the caregivers, there was moderate magnitude of the effect of the intervention on quality of life, in the settings of social relationships and environment, with highly significant differences between the pre- and post-intervention. Conclusion: A humanized nursing care intervention, which reinforces and reaffirms the social, affective, spiritual, and communication areas in the patient-family caregiver dyad, increases the quality of life of people with advanced cancer and that of their caregivers.

Effects of Dyadic Interventions on Quality of Life among Cancer Patients: An Integrative Review

“…Among 27 studies,[ 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 ] 7 studies[ 31 40 41 46 49 50 53 ] were pretest–posttest design. Mixed design was used in 3 studies[ 32 42 45 ] and 17[ 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 43 44 47 48 51 52 54 55 56 57 ] studies were randomized controlled trial.…”

“…Almost half of the studies[ 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 41 43 47 48 51 52 53 ] were conducted in multi-sites and the remaining[ 31 32 40 42 44 45 46 49 50 54 55 56 57 ] in one site. Sample size of 3 studies[ 40 46 50 ] was less than or equal to ten dyads, while sample size was between 11 and 20 dyads in 3 studies,[ 31 56 57 ] 21 and 30 dyads in 4 studies,[ 42 45 48 49 ] 31 and 40 dyads in 5 studies[ 32 39 41 51 53 ] 41 and 50 dyads in 2 studies,[ 33 52 ] 61–70 dyads in 1 study,[ 38 ] 71 and 80 dyads in 3 studies,[ 35 36 44 ] 91 and 100 in 1 study,[ 43 ] 100 and 200 dyads in 2 studies,[ 54 55 ] 200 and 300 dyads in 2 studies,[ 34 47 ] and above 300 dyads, i.e., 302 dyads in one study. [ 37 ] Sample size calculation was shown in only four studies.…”

“…Regarding the type of cancer included, 6 studies[ 40 42 46 51 54 55 ] included patients with lung cancer, 6 studies[ 37 41 43 48 53 57 ] included different types and stages of cancer, 5 studies[ 33 34 38 39 47 ] included breast cancer, 3 studies[ 55 56 45 56 ] included prostate cancer, 2 studies[ 31 49 ] included terminal cancer, 2 studies[ 32 42 ] included gastrointestinal cancer, 1 study[ 44 ] included ovarian cancer, and 1 study[ 50 ] included high-grade glioma (brain cancer). In 18 studies, the eligibility age was mentioned to be 18 years or more for providing consent.…”

“…One study each had intervention education,[ 55 ] dance,[ 48 ] writing,[ 44 ] and training along with education and counseling. [ 31 ]…”

“…Humanized nursing accompaniment[ 31 ] included home visits for training family caregiver on seeking palliative care from the nursing setting, teaching care as per need. Nursing counseling at home (through 3 home visits per month per family), on-line counseling with educational platform supported by audiovisual content, and telephone service to solve unforeseen inquiries were also used.…”