The effect of nursing self-care educational intervention on depression in women with breast cancer undergoing post-mastectomy chemotherapy: A quasi-experimental study

Abstract

Background and objectiveDepression is one of the most common psychological reactions that patients show during diagnosis and treatment. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of nursing self-care educational intervention on reducing depression in women with breast cancer undergoing post-mastectomy chemotherapy. MethodsThis quasi-experimental study (pre-test-post-test) was performed on 90 women with breast cancer undergoing post-mastectomy chemotherapy referred to two teaching hospitals in southeastern Iran from September 1, 2019, to December 1, 2020. Patients were selected using the convenience sampling method and randomly assigned into intervention (nursing self-care educational intervention) and control (routine care) groups. The standard BDI-13 instrument was used to assess depression. ResultsIn this study, the mean age of patients in the intervention and control groups was 46.20 and 44.64, respectively. The results showed that the nursing self-care educational intervention in the intervention group compared to the control group significantly reduced depression in patients with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy after mastectomy (p = 0.001). ConclusionAccording to the results of the present study, nursing self-care educational intervention can be used as an effective and cost-effective adjunctive therapy along with common treatments to reduce depression in women with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy after mastectomy.