Effects of Nurse-Led Support Via WeChat, a Smartphone Application, for Breast Cancer Patients After Surgery: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Nursing Telemedicine Educational Encounters: Improved Patient Satisfaction in Radiation Therapy Clinics

BACKGROUND

 Nurse-led education can improve patient satisfaction, and telemedicine has increased patient access during the COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVES

 The aim of this article was to investigate how nursing telemedicine educational visits influence patient satisfaction.

METHODS

 Patients receiving standard of care in-person education for breast cancer radiation therapy (RT) between January 2019 and June 2019 comprised the preintervention cohort. After July 2019, patients received the same information virtually and represented the postintervention cohort. Press Ganey surveys were used to evaluate patient satisfaction, t tests were performed to differentiate satisfaction scores, and f tests were calculated to determine differences in the variances of response.

FINDINGS

 Patient satisfaction increased in the postintervention cohort for what to expect during RT, how to manage side effects, and nurses' attentiveness to patient questions and worries. There was decreased variance in patient satisfaction in the postintervention group for quality of care received from nurses and caring manner of nurses.

Effects of a WeChat-based multimodal psychoeducational intervention on psychological well-being and quality of life in acute leukaemia patients in China: a randomised controlled trial

PURPOSE

The treatment and side effects of chemotherapy for acute leukaemia (AL) may cause both physical and psychological symptoms in patients. This study evaluated the effects of a WeChat-based multimodal psychoeducational intervention (ICARE programme) on fatigue, distress, anxiety, depression, and quality of life (QoL) among adult AL patients.

METHODS

In total, 72 participants were randomly assigned either to an intervention or control group (n = 36), respectively, from two large tertiary hospitals in Fuzhou, China (from April to December 2019). Data were collected at baseline, post-intervention, and after a 4-week follow-up using the Brief Fatigue Inventory, Distress Thermometer, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-leukaemia. Descriptive statistics was used to summarise the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of the participants and a linear mixed model was used to analyse the score changes.

RESULTS

Between the two groups, there were statistically significant improvements in fatigue, distress, anxiety, depression, physical well-being, social/family well-being, emotional well-being, functional well-being (all p < 0.001), and leukaemia-specific subscale (p = 0.001). The difference over time was significant for leukaemia-specific subscale and fatigue, both (p < 0.001), anxiety (p = 0.001), and social/family well-being (p = 0.005). The interaction effects were significant for fatigue, distress, anxiety, physical well-being, social/family well-being, and emotional well-being, all (p < 0.001), depression (p = 0.019), leukaemia-specific subscale (p = 0.008), and total QoL score (p = 0.004).

CONCLUSION

WeChat-based multimodal psychoeducational intervention demonstrated a significant effect in reducing fatigue, distress, anxiety, depression, and QoL in AL patients. This ICARE programme contributed to continuing care to support AL patients.

IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS

The ICARE programme can improve the mental health and QoL of AL patients. The application of WeChat-based psychoeducational interventions have significant potential to benefit cancer patients due to their reach and can be an added value to routine care.

Mobile health applications for the care of patients with breast cancer: A scoping review

Objectives

In recent years, the use of mobile health applications (mHealth apps) to deliver care for patients with breast cancer has increased exponentially. This study aimed to summarize the available evidence on developing mHealth apps to care for patients with breast cancer and identify the need for systematic efforts.

Methods

A scoping review was performed according to Arksey and O'Malley's framework, aiming to identify eligible research studies in PubMed, CINAHL, and Web of Science between January 2010 and December 2020. All identified studies were screened, extracted, and analyzed independently by two reviewers.

Results

A total of 676 studies were retrieved, and eight eligible studies were finally included. Four themes emerged: the involvement of patients and health professionals in the phases of design and development, patients' preferences, the characteristics of patients, and the motivators to use mHealth apps. The results indicated promising prospects for using mHealth apps to care for patients with breast cancer and identified the need for systematic efforts to develop and validate relevant apps.

Conclusions

The attributes of patient characteristics, needs, and patient-reported outcomes data are vital components for developing mHealth apps for patients with breast cancer. Additionally, collaborative efforts, including patients, nurses, and other significant health professionals, should develop mHealth apps for breast cancer care. Additional research focusing on the design and development of mHealth apps for patients with breast cancer is warranted.

Effectiveness of mobile health-based self-management interventions in breast cancer patients: a meta-analysis

PURPOSE

To determine the effectiveness of mobile health-based self-management interventions on medical/behavioral, role, and emotional management in breast cancer patients.

METHODS

The Embase, MEDLINE, SINOMED, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), WanFang, and Weipu (VIP) databases were extensively searched from inception to November 30, 2020, to identify eligible clinical trials. Outcomes included medical/behavioral management (self-management behavior, functional exercise compliance, self-efficacy, complications, and symptoms), role management (role functioning), and emotional management (anxiety and depression), social support, and health-related quality of life.

RESULTS

Twenty-four studies were included in this meta-analysis. The results of the meta-analysis indicated that mobile health-based self-management interventions could potentially improve breast cancer patients' self-management behavior, functional exercise compliance (WMD = 15.80, 95% CI = 10.53 to 21.08, P < 0.001), self-efficacy (SMD = 1.22, 95% CI = 0.57 to 1.87, P < 0.001), and health-related quality of life (SMD = 0.78, 95% CI = 0.44 to 1.12, P < 0.001); reduce the incidence of lymphedema (RR = 0.20, 95% CI = 0.15 to 0.26, P < 0.001); and relieve the level of anxiety (SMD =  - 0.67, 95% CI =  - 0.99 to - 0.35, P < 0.001). However, patients assigned to the mobile health group and the conventional care group did not differ significantly in symptom relief (including pain and fatigue), role functioning, depression, or social support (all P ≥ 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Mobile health-based self-management interventions can potentially facilitate the self-management and health-related quality of life of breast cancer patients.

The effectiveness of a WeChat-based multimodal nursing program for women with breast cancer: A randomized controlled trial protocol

BACKGROUND:

Breast cancer is one of the most familiar malignant tumor all over the world in women. The main treatment for the early breast cancer is surgery accompanied by the adjuvant therapy. Nevertheless, these treatments can lead to adverse reactions including sleep disturbances, fatigue, and pain. For our research, the objective is to assess the therapeutic effect of nursing program based on WeChat for the female breast cancer.

METHODS:

This is a randomized controlled research, and it will be carried out from November 2020 to May 2021, which was granted via the Ethics Committee of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University (LW2020056). In this study, patients meeting the following criteria will be included: (1).. patients aged 18 or older, (2).. stage I to III disease, (3).. patients newly diagnosed with the breast cancer, and (4).. patients undergoing surgery accompanied by adjuvant therapy. And patients with: (1).. mental or cognitive disorders and (2).. other malignancies will be excluded. In intervention group, the patients are given multi-mode nursing program based on WeChat and routine nursing. In control group, patients are given routine nursing, involving vital signs monitoring, the education of health, the monitoring of postoperative complications, as well as postoperative drainage tube nursing. The main outcomes are the change of Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast version 4.0 (FACT-Bv4.0) score. While the secondary result is the numerical rating scale (NRS).

RESULTS:

Table 1 shows the clinical results between study group and control group.

CONCLUSION:

This paper has guided nurses to develop an evidence-based protocol to improve patient care for postoperative women with breast cancer.

TRIAL REGISTRATION:

This study protocol was registered in Research Registry (researchregistry6180).

Effect of WeChat consultation group on residents staying at home in Sichuan and Chongqing regions during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in China: a cross-sectional study

Background

After the outbreak of Coronavirus in Wuhan, Hubei, in 2019, the disease rapidly spread to other parts of China as well as outside of China. Since the pandemic outbreak, the general public has been responsive to the national call to stay at home in quarantine. However, since doubts and anxiety related to the disease have been detected in the general public, in this study, we established the WeChat platform “Coronavirus Disease 2019 Voluntary Assistance Group in Sichuan and Chongqing regions” in January 2020, which was committed to providing professional consultation and psychological counseling services for residents in Sichuan and Chongqing during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 outbreak. Our aim was to analyze the consultation practices of residents in the WeChat assistance group and provide a reference for the similar “non-contact” voluntary service platforms aiming to implement consultations during the late pandemic period.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted using the records containing the consultation content from the WeChat assistance groups in Sichuan and Chongqing between January 30 and March 1, 2020. Data on consultation content, changes in a number of consultation items, answers, knowledge on popular science, and expert advice were summarized, and the Pareto chart was used to analyze the primary and secondary factors of consultation content.

Results

The constituent ratio of “respiratory symptoms, masks, and disinfection” in consultation content ranked as the top three factors. Cumulatively, they occupied 49.77% of the content, thus resulting as the primary factors in the consultation content. The number of consultation items suddenly increased from 10 on the first day to 116 on the 7th day, resulting in a 1060% increased rate. There were 151 consultation factors, among which 130 (86.1%) were related to the Coronavirus Disease 2019, and 21 (13.9%) were unrelated to the Coronavirus Disease 2019.

Conclusion

WeChat groups may be used as an effective means for providing assistance services for the public during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 outbreak.

Monitoring the Changes of Upper Limb Water in Breast Cancer Patients by Segmental Multi-Frequency Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis

BACKGROUND Our study aims to investigate the role of segmental multi-frequency bioelectrical impedance analysis (SMF-BIA) in the monitoring of upper limb water changes of patients with breast cancer before and after surgery to aid in establishing a new approach to preventing lymphedema. MATERIAL AND METHODS This study included 442 female patients with breast cancer. We used SMF-BIA to monitor changes in body composition. Data were collected 1 day before surgery and 7 days and 3 months after surgery. RESULTS The average body mass index (BMI) of patients was normal but, in 22.8% of patients, the percentage of body fat exceeded the average, which is known as invisible obesity. Moreover, the weight, BMI, basal metabolic rate, inorganic salt content, muscle content, total body water, and extracellular water of patients increased 7 days after surgery (P<0.05), but recovered to preoperative levels within 3 months. In addition, protein content, skeletal muscle content, and intracellular water increased 7 days after surgery, but decreased within 3 months to even lower levels than before surgery (P<0.05). The extracellular water and total body water ratios increased continuously within the 3 months after surgery. Finally, the segmental water ratio of the healthy and affected upper limbs increased, while the bioelectrical impedance value decreased; however, they were still within the normal range. CONCLUSIONS SMF-BIA monitoring may provide more detailed information for making individual nursing care plans in patients with breast cancer. Further studies with long-term follow-up are urgently needed to establishment a lymphedema risk predictive model.

Oncology Nursing During a Pandemic: Critical Reflections in the Context of COVID-19

OBJECTIVES

To provide a critical reflection of COVID-19 in the context of oncology nursing and provide recommendations for caring for people affected by cancer during this pandemic.

DATA SOURCES

Electronic databases, including CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsychINFO, Scopus, professional web sites, and grey literature were searched using Google Scholar.

CONCLUSION

Nurses are key stakeholders in developing and implementing policies regarding standards of care during the COVID-19 pandemic. This pandemic poses several challenges for oncology services. Oncology nurses are providing a pivotal role in the care and management of the novel COVID-19 in the year landmarked as the International Year of the Nurse.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE

It is too early to tell what shape this pandemic will take and its impact on oncology care. However, several important clinical considerations have been discussed to inform oncology nursing care and practice.