Effect on Symptom Management Education Receiving Patients of Chemotherapy

The study of a planned education in patients receiving chemotherapy can alleviate the side effects of chemotherapy and, thus, can increase the quality of the patients’ lives. In accordance with this view, this study was conducted with the purpose of examining the effect of planned education given to patients receiving chemotherapy on their symptom control. The study was quasi-experimental. A sample of 140 patients participated, of which 70 were in the experimental group and 70 were in the control group. A patient data form and the chemotherapy symptom assessment scale (C-SAS) were used in order to collect the data. Median, Mann–Whitney U test, and Wilcoxon signed rank test were used to analyze the data. There were statistically significant decreases in the frequencies of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, feeling distressed/anxious, feeling pessimistic and unhappy, unusual fatigue, and difficulty sleeping. Also, there were statistically significant decreases in the severity of the 11 symptoms and on the discomfort levels of these symptoms. In the study, the planned education provided by the health-care providers had a positive effect on the symptom control of patients receiving chemotherapy.