The effects of nurse-led telephone-based support on supportive care needs among women with breast cancer: A randomized clinical trial

Background:Patients with breast cancer (BC) need to be supported in all aspects of their lives. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the impacts of nurse-led telephone-based support on supportive care needs (SCNs) in women with BC. Methods:This two-group randomized clinical trial was conducted on 62 women with BC who were randomly assigned to two groups to either receive telephone-based support (n = 31) or conventional care routinely provided to patients with BC (n = 31). Patients' SCNs were assessed before, 2 weeks, and 1 month after the intervention onset using the SCNs Survey -Short Form 34 The data were analyzed through the repeated-measures analysis of variance and the Bonferroni's, Chi-square, Fisher's exact, independent-sample t, and Mann-Whitney U-tests. Results: Significant decreases were observed in the mean scores of SCNs in both groups (P< 0.001), though the decrease in the intervention group was much greater than the control group (39.08 vs. 2.87). Baseline mean score of SCNs in the intervention group was significantly greater than the control group (P = 0.008); however, 2 weeks and 1 month after the intervention onset, the mean score in the intervention group was significantly lower than the control group (P< 0.05). Conclusion: Telephone-based support is effective in addressing and reducing SCNs among patients with BC

Effect of Peer Education before Coronary Artery Bypass Graft on Post Discharge Quality of Life

Abstract Background: Promoting quality of life after Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) is necessary in order to control the risk factors and reducing the probability of patient readmission. This study was conducted to determine the effect of peer education on patients’ quality of life after coronary artery bypass graft. Materials and Methods: In this clinical trial, two patients with previous coronary artery bypass surgery were trained as peer educators. The patients who were candidate for surgery were systematically allocated to trial or control groups. Before the surgery, both groups received the post CABG self-care in the ward. The trial group (n=40) was taught by the peers, while the control group (n=40) received the routine teaching by the nurses. The quality of life was assessed before, one month and two months after discharging using the SF12 questionnaire. Multivariate Analysis of Variances (MANOVA) was recruited to analyze the data. Results: In the trial group, the mean quality of life scores before the surgery, one month and two month after discharging were 31.82±4.90, 28.06±3.83 and 35.82± 4.96, respectively. In the control group, the scores were 25.58±4.21, 29.31±4.03, and 31.56±6.91. The results indicated significant differences between the groups (p<0.001, F= 13.52). In the peer educated group, the mean scores of quality of life were higher than the control group. Conclusion: The CABG patients᾽ quality of life was significantly higher in the patients who received peer education in comparison with the control group. It seems that peer education may contribute in the patients᾽ self care and promoting their quality of life