The Effect of Patient Education Interventions on Distress, Self-Care Knowledge and Self-Care Behavior of Oncology Patients: A Meta-Analysis

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of patient education interventions on distress, self-care knowledge and self-care behavior in cancer patients. METHODS: A total of 1,102 studies were retrieved from 6 electronic databases in Korea. From these studies, 18 studies met the inclusion criteria with a total of 850 participants. Two authors independently assessed the methodological quality by Cochrane's Risk of Bias and Methodological Items for Non Randomized Studies. The data were analyzed by the RevMan 5.1 program of Cochrane library. RESULTS: Overall effect size of education interventions on anxiety was -2.12 (95% CI: -3.90, -0.34) (p<.001). The effects on self-care knowledge and self care behavior were -1.08 (95% CI:-1.73, -0.43) (p=.001), and -1.41 (95% CI: -2.13, -0.68) (p<.001), respectively. Publication bias was detected as evaluated by funnel plot, but the fail-safe number was moderate. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that patient education interventions can relieve anxiety and self-care. Further randomized controlled trials studies are needed to evaluate the effects of patient education intervention on depression.