Effectiveness of a comprehensive post-operative health education program in improving quality of life after gastric cancer surgery.

BACKGROUND

Patients with gastric cancer often experience postoperative problems such as dumping syndrome, abdominal cramps, and nausea, which have profound effects on their mental health and quality of life. Earlier studies have shown that comprehensive health education can dramatically improve the quality of life of cancer patients after surgery. Thus, in this study, we conducted a health education intervention program in patients who had undergone surgical treatment for gastric cancer and evaluated the effectiveness of this program in improving the postoperative quality of life, with an attempt to offer evidence for better postoperative management of gastric cancer patients.

METHODS

Totally, 80 patients with gastric cancer who underwent surgery at our center from February 2018 to February 2019 were equally divided into an observation group and control group according to the random number table method. The observation group was offered with interventions regarding health education, including disease awareness-raising, instructions on behavior and lifestyle, rehabilitation management, and mental health counseling, and the control group received the routine nursing intervention. The quality of life one month before and after surgery was assessed by using the Chinese version of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QLQ-STO22.

RESULTS

The baseline data and quality of life showed no significant differences between the observation group and the control group one month before surgery (both P>0.05). One month after the surgery, the scores of dysphagia, pain/discomfort, reflux symptoms, and emotional issues and overall score in the observation group decreased significantly (34.86±2.170, 38.66±3.08, 32.26±2.76, 49.55±4.20, and 54.26±7.03, respectively), which were also significantly lower than those in the control group (36.33±3.10, 44.29±3.72, 33.64±3.10, 53.56±3.25, and 60.17±7.28, respectively; all P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The comprehensive health education intervention program can effectively improve the quality of life in patients after gastric cancer surgery and deserves further application in clinical settings.