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TOPLINE
In a study, a nurse-led comprehensive support program was associated with lower death anxiety scores among women with breast cancer receiving hormonal therapy, with effects persisting at 1 month.
METHODOLOGY
- Researchers conducted a clinical trial of 70 women with breast cancer who had received hormonal therapy at a breast cancer clinic in Iran; of these, 66 women completed the study. The mean age of the participants was 50.85 years.
- The participants were randomly assigned to receive either comprehensive supportive care (intervention group) or routine care (control group). The support program included six sessions of 45-60 minutes each, delivered both in person and virtually in groups of 5-7 participants to provide the informational, emotional, and personal support needed.
- The sessions addressed topics including hormonal therapy, self-care, nutritional care, physical activity, anxiety reduction techniques, spirituality, and sexual and marital relationships.
- Death anxiety was assessed using the Templer Death Anxiety Scale at baseline, immediately after the intervention, and 1 month after the intervention. The scores ranged from 0 to 15; higher scores indicated greater death anxiety. At baseline, the mean death anxiety scores were similar between the intervention and control groups (7.45 vs 7.09; P = .465).
TAKEAWAY
- Immediately after the intervention, the mean death anxiety score was lower in the intervention group than in the control group (3.82 vs 8.48; P < .001).
- After 1 month, the mean death anxiety score remained significantly lower in the intervention group than in the control group (5.73 vs 8.48; P < .001).
- The findings remained statistically significant in an intention-to-treat analysis (P < .001).
IN PRACTICE
"Incorporating this program could be extremely effective in creating care plans and beneficial for patients dealing with decreased psychological issues like death anxiety," the authors wrote.
SOURCE
The study was led by Saeideh Raisi, School of Nursing, Jahrom University of Medical Sciences, Jahrom, Iran. It was published online on August 20 in Supportive Care in Cancer.
LIMITATIONS
The limitations included the study's reliance on self-reported measures and the convenience-sampled population. Environmental factors and individual characteristics, such as family support and socioeconomic status, that could have influenced anxiety levels were not accounted for.
DISCLOSURES
The study was supported by the Research and Technology Deputy of Jahrom University of Medical Sciences. The authors reported having no relevant conflicts of interest.
This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.
