Empowering individuals to self-manage chemotherapy side effects.

Providing concise, consistent, and individually relevant patient education is critical. At one institution, patients and families attended a chemotherapy education class consisting of an 11-minute DVD and an oncology nurse-facilitated group discussion. Postclass and eight-week follow-up surveys assessing understanding of treatment side effects, self-care management, and confidence in managing side effects were administered. Quantitative and qualitative data suggested the DVD and oncology nurse-facilitated group discussion provided consistent information, flexibility, and expert knowledge in empowering patients and families to self-manage chemotherapy side effects.