Efficacy of an Algorithm-Based Nursing Intervention to Promote a Balance Between Cancer Patients' Social Roles and Outpatient Treatment: A Quasi-Experimental Study.
Kiyoko Kanda, Ayumi Kyota, Keiko Fujimoto and 4 others
PMID 35398872WHAT IT FOUND
Social-role participation did not differ between groups at any time point; however, patients receiving the nursing algorithm had lower distress and adverse-event counts and fewer patients had resigned or taken leave at 2 months.
Key findings
01Patients receiving the nursing algorithm had lower distress thermometer scores than patients receiving standard care at 3 weeks and 2 months.
02At 2 months, 37.0% of standard-care patients had resigned or taken leave, compared with 18.5% of nursing-algorithm patients.
03The proportion of patients with a social role did not differ significantly between groups at any measured time point.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study analysed 108 patients, fewer than the 130 target, and the authors note this was less than required. Fourteen participants did not complete and nine were excluded, so the analysed groups may not represent all invited patients. Patients had Performance Status 0 or 1 and were considered free of mental or cognitive disorders, so it says little about more impaired or distressed patients. The control group received standard nursing care, not a neutral comparison, and nurse experience may have differed between groups. Results cover 2 months of outpatient treatment in Japan, so longer-term work or role outcomes and other settings are not shown.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that the nursing algorithm preserved patients' social roles. The proportion with a social role did not differ significantly between groups at any measured time point, and the employment result was a separate outcome.