The effect of education given to head and neck cancerpatients taking radiotherapy on symptoms and quality oflife

This study was conducted as a randomized, controlled, and experimental study to examine the effects of education given to head and neck cancer patients receiving radiotherapy on symptoms and quality of life. The study was completed between June 2020 and October 2021 with 64 patients in the education (n:33) and control (n:31) groups. Necessary permissions were obtained before starting the research. The training was given by the researcher in the first interview, in line with the training guide prepared for the training group. Afterward, the training was repeated every week and for a total of eight weeks, and the patients were evaluated face-to-face in terms of symptoms. The researcher continued the education reminder and symptom assessment process with telephone interviews with patients at 10, 12, 14, 16, 20, and 24 weeks. Data were collected with a questionnaire, symptom evaluation form, quality of life scale, and head and neck module. Data were evaluated by student's t, Anova, Mann Whitney U, Kruskal Wallis, analysis of variance in repeated measures and correlation. In the control group compared to the intervention group, the average score of mucositis, taste change, and saliva density in the follow-ups other than the first, dry mouth, pain, weight loss, skin burn, nausea, and fatigue score in follow-ups other than the first two, and dysphagia score average in follow-ups except for the first three follow-ups were higher, Intra-group and intergroup comparisons were also found to be significant. Again, it was determined that the mean anorexia score of the control group was higher than that of the intervention group in all follow-up periods, and the in-group and intergroup comparisons were significant. It was determined that there was no significant relationship between the groups in terms of hoarseness, communication problems, feeling angry, dental caries and fibrous tissue development in the follow-up processes. Fistula, osteonecrosis and trismus did not develop in both groups during the follow-up periods. It was determined that the mean score of quality of life and 4 head and neck module of both groups was significant within and between groups during all follow-up processes. It was determined that the education decreased the average score of mucositis, taste change, saliva density, dry mouth, pain, weight loss, skin burn, nausea, fatigue, dysphagia, and anorexia and positively affected the quality of life. In this direction, it is recommended that patients with head and neck cancer receiving radiotherapy be trained and monitored by nurses. Keywords: Head and Neck Cancer, Radiotherapy, Education, Symptom, Quality of Life, Nursing.