The Effect of an Educational-Supportive Intervention on the Perceived Stress and Nutritional Status of Breast Cancer Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy

Background: Managing stress and improving the nutritional status of cancer patients can lead to better physical and mental conditions, more desirable treatment outcomes, and improved feelings and engagement in the treatment process. Objectives: This study sought to examine the effect of an educational-supportive intervention on the perceived stress and nutritional status of breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 80 women with breast cancer admitted to Khatam Al-Anbia (PBUH) and Ali Ibn Abi Talib (AS) hospitals affiliated with Zahedan University of Medical Sciences in 2022. Participants were selected using convenience sampling and randomly divided into 2 intervention and control groups. In the intervention group, participants attended 4 training sessions focusing on the patients’ common problems, proper nutrition, and prescribed treatment. The training session was performed at the patient’s bedside and lasted 45 - 60 minutes. In the control group, patients received no intervention except for hospital routine training. Data were collected from both groups before and 6 weeks after the intervention using the Perceived Stress Scale and patient-generated subjective global assessment (PG-SGA). Data were analyzed using SPSS version 22 using the paired-samples t test, independent samples t test, and chi-square test. Data analysis was performed at a significance level of less than 0.05 (P < 0.05). Results: The mean perceived stress scores were changed from 52.250 ± 2.284 to 32.125 ± 7.390 in the intervention group and 51.475 ± 2.773 to 48.425 ± 2.011 in the control group. The mean perceived stress scores were significantly higher in the intervention group than in the control group (P < 0.001). Moreover, the mean scores of the nutritional status were changed from 7.005 ± 41.40 to 1.94 ± 19.95 in the intervention group and 7.561 ± 40.58 to 5.177 ± 49.65 in the control group. The mean nutritional status scores were significantly higher in the intervention group than in the control group (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Given the positive effect of the educational-supportive intervention on reducing stress and improving nutritional status, these interventions can be incorporated into training and care programs to improve nutritional status and reduce stress in patients with breast cancer.