Does SMS Message Sent by Nurse After Radical Prostatectomy Affect Quality of Life?

Abstract

Is there any effect of discharge education content delivered via SMS by nurses on the quality-of-life scores of patients who have undergone radical prostatectomy (RP)? Although RP offers the greatest potential for a definitive cure in localised prostate cancer and improves overall survival, it is associated with various psychosocial and psychological challenges after the discharge period. These issues can lead to decreased patients' quality of life. Surgical treatment-specific side effects can lead to some problems. So, patients are often unprepared for posttreatment self-management at home. A structured follow-up programme following surgery is necessary to increase quality of life and decrease some undesirable complications. Discharge training via SMS messages sent by clinical nurses may increase quality of life in patients after RP. This study was conducted with the aim of evaluating the effect of SMS messages containing discharge information sent by nurses on the quality of life of patients who underwent RP. This quasi-experimental study was conducted from May to December 2022, with 57 patients (29 in the intervention and 28 in the control group) who underwent RP in Istanbul, Turkiye. The intervention group received routine follow-up and discharge information via SMS message twice a week between 09:00 and 17:00 on Mondays and Thursdays for four weeks. The control group received routine information. A ‘Descriptive Characteristics Form’ and the ‘SF-36 Quality of Life Scale’ were used as data collection tools. The data was evaluated by descriptive statistics and paired-sample t-tests. The study findings indicated that the average scores across all SF-36 Quality of Life Scale subdimensions (physical functioning, physical role functioning, emotional role functioning, vitality, mental health, social role functioning and general health perceptions) were significantly higher in the intervention group after one month (p ⟨ 0.01). Postoperative SMS messages sent by clinical nurses increased patients' quality of life. These findings underscore the importance of discharge information reminders via SMS text messages by clinical nurses following RP for enhancing patients' quality of life.