Effect of home-based nursing interventions on symptom control and quality of life in patients with breast cancer receiving chemotherapy

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of home nursing interventions on symptom control and quality of life in line with the problems and needs of breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. Methods: The research was carried out in two stages. The first step is a qualitative study to determine the home care needs of breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. For this, 24 in-depth individual interviews were conducted. The data were collected by a semi-structured interview form and analyzed by the content analysis method. The second stage is a quasi-experimental study on 70 patients with breast cancer, 35 of which are experimental and 35 are control groups. Data were collected using the Patient Information Form, Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale, EORTC QLQ-C30 Quality of Life Scale, and QLQ-BR23 Module. Analysis of variance and t-test were used for data analysis. Results: Data obtained from in-depth individual interviews about home care needs of breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, problems they experienced, and patient needs. In the second stage of the study; After the nursing interventions performed at home, it was found that the mean scores of Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale, EORTC QLQ-C30 Quality of Life Scale functional subscale scores increased, the mean scores of the Symptom Sub-Dimension scores increased and the general health subscale scores increased compared to the control group. While the mean scores of the EORTC QLQ-BR23 Scale Functional Scale Sub-Dimension did not change in the experimental group, it was found that functional score scores decreased in the control group. EORTC QLQ-BR23 Scale Symptom Score Subdimension The mean scores of the small subscales were increased in time in the experimental group but this increase was higher in the control group. There was a statistically significant difference between the experimental and control groups in all time periods. Conclusion: As a result of nursing interventions applied to eliminate the needs and problems of breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, it was determined that patients improved their symptom control and improved their quality of life. For this reason, it is important to provide home care services to cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. To improve the condition of these patients, comprehensive and multidisciplinary researches enabling the participation of nurses and physicians working in primary care at primary care is also recommended. Keywords: Breast cancer, chemotherapy, home care, nursing.