The effect of training given to cancer patients receiving immunotherapy and telephone follow up on symptom management and self-care agency

This research was conducted as a randomized controlled experimental study designed to examine the effects of education and telephone follow up given to cancer patients receiving immunotherapy on symptom management and self-care agency. The data of the study were collected in the outpatient chemotherapy unit of a training and research hospital. The sample of the study consisted of cancer patients who accepted to participate in the study and received immunotherapy for the first time (n = 69). In the first stage of the research, the content of the educational booklet to be created was determined by qualitative interviews with 22 cancer patients who received only immunotherapy. In the study, participants were divided into two groups: intervention (n=34) and control group (n=35) using the randomization list. Participants in the intervention group were given face-to-face training with the training booklet and were followed up by phone. Routine clinical procedure was applied to the control group. After the training was administered to the participants in the intervention group, measurements were taken twice, at the end of the 1st cycle and at the end of the 3rd cycle. Demographic and medical characteristics-patient information form, telephone interview form, telephone interview evaluation form, Nightingale Symptom Assessment Scale (N-SDS) and Self-Care Agency Scale were used to collect data. It was determined that the participants examined according to their medical characteristics were most often diagnosed with lung cancer, had more stage 4 cancer types, and received chemotherapy the most as a drug treatment before immunotherapy. Descriptive statistics, chi-square, t-test for independent samples, Mann Whitney U test to examine the difference in scale scores between groups, and Wilcoxon paired two sample test to examine the difference between measurement times of scale scores were used to evaluate the data. In the study, it was determined that the education and telephone follow-up given to cancer patients receiving immunotherapy increased the self-care power of the patients (p <0.05, G = 1.78). It was determined that the physical and social well-being of the participants in the intervention group was better than the participants in the control group after the training and follow-up (p<0.05). As a result, it was determined that the education and telephone follow up given to cancer patients receiving immunotherapy were effective in increasing the self-care agency of the patients and in the management of symptoms (p<0.05, G=1.78, G=0.55). For this reason, it is recommended to add immunotherapy training to cancer education programs in our country.