The Effects of Telenursing Aiming to Prevent Postsurgical Complications and Improve Quality of Life among Patients with Prostate Cancer

Abstract

Background: Over 90% of patients undergoing prostate cancer surgery report symptoms of urinary incontinence and sexual dysfunction. Complications after surgery reduce the self-esteem of prostate cancer patients and impair their social function. Objective: Therefore, we conducted a randomized controlled study to examine whether 3 months of telenursing could reduce complications in prostate cancer patients. Interventions/Methods: The participants were randomly assigned to either an intervention group or a control group. Using a tablet computer, the participants were asked to provide information on various items, including urinary frequency, number of incontinence pads used, and presence of sexual desire and erections. Both the participants and researchers monitored automatically-graphed time-dependent changes in symptoms, and the researchers could propose concrete measures to reduce patients' complications. The control group received ordinary care. The intervention period for both groups was 3 months. If there was a problem reported after discharge from hospital, the intervention was stopped and the hospital was contacted. The primary endpoint was an improved score on the expanded prostate cancer index composite and improved urinary incontinence based on a positive stress test. The secondary endpoint was an evaluation of self-care responses to the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G) instrument. Results: The results showed that urinary function, urinary bother, and sexual bother improved in the intervention group. Conclusions: Furthermore, significant improvements were seen in physical, emotional, and functional wellbeing improved on the FACT-G. Implications for Practice: These findings suggest that telenursing can reduce postoperative complications and sense of burden in patients with prostate cancer.