Evaluation of the relationship between knowledge level and anxiety level of cancer patients with port catheter

This study was carried out in a descriptive-sectional type to evaluate the relationship between the level of knowledge about the catheter and the level of anxiety in cancer patients with port catheters. The sample of the research, Bakırköy Dr. Sadi Konuk Training and Research Hospital consisted of 136 patients who were treated in the outpatient chemotherapy unit. "Patient Information Form", "Patient Information Form for Port Catheterization" and "Beck Anxiety Scale" were used to collect data. The analysis of the data obtained from the research was performed using the SPSS 21 program. The mean age of the patients participating in the study was 59.70±12.07 years, 57.4% were male and 52.9% were primary school graduates. 48.5% of the participants were cancer patients for 1-3 years and the majority (80.1%) were receiving chemotherapy. 15.4% of the patients stated that they received training before the port catheterization application, the training was mostly (9.6%) given by the physician and they evaluated their general health status as good (68.4%). In the study, the mean score of the "Patient Information Form for Port Catheterization" was 20.11±2.43, the mean score of the "Beck Anxiety Scale" was 8.16±4.84. It was found that there was a significant difference between the port catheterization knowledge score according to marital status (p <. 05). In addition, it was determined that there was a significant difference in anxiety scores according to the treatment type of the patients, receiving training before port catheterization, encountering any problems after port catheterization, feeling more confident after port catheterization, and general health status (p < .05). In this study, no significant relationship was found between the anxiety score and the port catheterization knowledge score (r= 0.131; p= .128). As a result, although the level of knowledge of the patients about the port catheterization procedure was good, it was determined that they experienced mild anxiety. It is recommended that nurses should play an active role in the education of patients with port catheterization and personal characteristics and variables related to disease status should be considered in patient education. Keywords: Anxiety, Cancer, Knowledge, Nurse, Port Catheter