The effect of nursing interventions focused on hope development on individuals' hope levels

Radiotherapy applications, which are widely used today in the treatment of cancer, may cause acute and chronic side effects in patients. Individuals receiving radiotherapy may experience feelings such as hopelessness due to the side effects of the disease and treatment. To improve the hope levels of cancer patients while managing this treatment process; It is thought that it can increase individuals' compliance with treatment, quality of life and coping strategies. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of hope development-focused nursing interventions on cancer patients receiving radiotherapy on the hope level of individuals. The study method was conducted as a single-group experimental study with pre-test and post-test. The data of the study were collected at the radiation oncology clinic of Ankara Bilkent City Hospital between November 2022 and October 2023, and the implementation of the study was completed with nine cancer patients receiving radiotherapy. Data were collected using a personal information form and the Herth Hope Scale. Initiatives to develop hope were implemented as a single group training, twice a week for 4 weeks and consisting of 8 sessions in total. In evaluating the data; Average, number, percentage distributions, t-test in independent groups and paired sample analysis were used for dependent measurements. After the hope awareness program, the individuals' average hope score increased from 81.22±3.80 to 86.66±1.73.It was determined that the difference between the individual's pre-test and post-test total score averages of the "future", "positive readiness and expectation" and "relationships between themselves and those around them" sub-dimensions was statistically significant (p <0.05). According to the results of the study, nursing interventions focused on developing hope were found to be effective in increasing hope levels in cancer patients receiving radiotherapy. For this reason, it is recommended that the nursing interventions program focused on developing hope be applied to larger groups of cancer patients and its permanence be tested..