Effectiveness of a self-management mobile app on the quality of life of women with breast cancer: a study in a developing country.

BACKGROUND: Self-management involves taking responsibility for personal health and taking the initiative to do so. This can be accomplished by learning information and skills that will help consider the difficulties may encounter during and after cancer treatment. With this perspective, we have aimed to develop a self-management mobile app for women with breast cancer in Iran and evaluate its impact on the quality of life of patients. METHOD: This study is a methodological study in 2021. We developed the app during three phases. The first phase aimed at identifying educational content and designing user experience, the second phase aimed at developing and implementing the app, and the third phase aimed at evaluating pre-and post-implementation. RESULT: In this study, an Android app for self-management women with breast cancer was developed. According to the results of the pre-and post-implementations among the most significant changes were in the quality of life level, highest respectively: social avoidance (Pre: 6.41-Post: 3.56), negative feelings (Pre: 5.93 - Post: 3.40), sexual function (Pre: 6.80 - Post: 5.04), sexual interest (Pre: 6.41 - Post: 4.75) and pain (Pre: 6.37 - Post: 4.97). And least the changes respectively: distress-family (Pre: 7 - Post: 7), distress-recurrence (Pre: 4.49 - Post: 4.38), benefits (Pre: 2.47 - Post: 3.12), appearance (Pre: 4.10 - Post: 3.32). Also, we calculated the usability evaluation of this app with the system usability scale (SUS); the overall rating score was 83/100, an excellent level (> 80.3), and a grade A. CONCLUSION: The study shows that a breast cancer self-management app can support and improve the quality of life of women with breast cancer. We conducted this study to show that by developing a self-management app, women with breast cancer can improve their quality of life, - by increasing their self-management skills.

The Role of Beliefs and Psychological Factors in Caring of Patients With Cancer: The Lived Experiences of Informal Caregivers.

Cancer affects not only the patient but also family members as informal caregivers. In order for family caregivers to achieve balance and improve their caregiving roles, it is essential to identify the beliefs and psychological aspects affecting them. The present study was carried out qualitatively with a descriptive phenomenological design in 2020. The main participants in this study were selected from one of the major referral centers for cancer patients in West Azerbaijan Province, located in northwestern, Iran. Twenty-two family caregivers were selected through a purposive sampling method. Data analysis showed that the 3 main themes of "emotional and religious preconceptions," "feeling committed to caring for beloveds," and "resilience" played a prominent role in family caregivers. These factors led to caregivers' commitment to and responsibility for care. Holistic care necessitates consideration of all aspects of human life. The results of this study led to an understanding of the complex tendencies and feelings of family caregivers. Based on the results, it was found that care is influenced by beliefs, religious preconceptions, sociocultural, and psychological factors. Identifying these variables helps medical staff share planning, interventions, and counseling with family caregivers and address issues that affect them.

Effects of the Continuous Care Model on the Health-Promoting Lifestyle in Breast Cancer Survivors: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer and the chief cause of cancer-related death among women worldwide, with the incidence increasing exponentially particularly in low- to middle-income countries. The increase in the incidence of breast cancer is partly accounted for by increases in life expectancy due to improvements in public health, but also related to an increase in risk factors for cancer including smoking, excess body weight, decreased physical activity, and changes in reproductive activity. Health-promoting lifestyle is therefore one of the major topics of importance in studying chronic illnesses and cancer. Health promotion interventions, including the use of care models, have a vast contribution to make in terms of timely diagnosis and improved survival. One such care model, which has been designed to increase self-care, adherence, and performance in chronic patients, is the continuous care model (CCM). This study was conducted with the purpose of determining the influence of the CCM on the health-promoting lifestyle of patients with breast cancer during 2017-2018. In this randomized clinical trial, 60 patients with breast cancer were chosen by convenience sampling followed by random allocation into treatment and control groups. Six sessions of group discussion were held for the treatment group according to the CCM and items in the health-promoting lifestyle questionnaire. Data collection tools included a general health questionnaire, a demographic questionnaire, a family support questionnaire, and the Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP), which respondents completed before and after the intervention. P values ≤ .05 were considered significant. When comparing the mean score of health-promoting lifestyle in both the control and treatment groups, before and after the intervention, significant increases in every dimension were observed. The average overall health promotion lifestyle was revealed to be significantly elevated from 123.48 to 147.12. However, in the control group the mean scores had slightly increased or were the same in all the dimensions. In addition, the average overall health promotion lifestyle had increased from 119.89 to 121.32. The observed difference in mean scores was not statistically significant. The CCM increased the score of health-promoting lifestyle of patients with breast cancer. Therefore, this caring model can be considered an alternative to improve healthy lifestyles of patients with cancer.

Nurses' Strategies for Conscience-based Care Delivery: A Qualitative Study.

INTRODUCTION: Conscience is the core of ethical values. It helps nurses protect patients' rights and provide quality dignified care. Therefore, assessing nurses' strategies for conscience-based care may help facilitate conscience-based care delivery. AIM: This study aimed to explore nurses' strategies for conscience-based care delivery. METHODS: This qualitative study was conducted in 2018 on twelve hospital nurses purposively recruited from four teaching hospitals in Urmia, Iran. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and inductively analyzed through conventional content analysis. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Urmia University of Medical Sciences. All the participants were informed of the aim of the study and a written consent was obtained from each of them. Participation in the study was entirely voluntary and the participants could withdraw at any stage of the study. RESULTS: Participants' strategies for conscience-based care delivery were grouped into two main themes, namely self-empowerment for clinical role performance and attempt to deliver care beyond the routines. CONCLUSION: Clinical self-empowerment and attempt to deliver care beyond the routines are nurses' main psychosocial strategies for conscience-based care delivery. Mentorship programs are recommended for the development of nurses' time management and clinical skills and thereby, empower them for conscience-based care delivery. Moreover, continuing education programs and curricular revisions are recommended to strengthen their religious beliefs.

The Effect of Smartphone-Based Application Learning on the Nursing Students' Performance in Preventing Medication Errors in the Pediatric Units.

Medication errors (MEs) are potentially harmful patient safety events in all age groups. MEs are particularly hazardous in the pediatric population, especially with patients who require special attention due to the high incidence and severity of disease. This study aimed to determine the effect of a smartphone messenger application on nursing students' learning regarding the prevention of MEs in pediatric patients. METHODS: We performed this quasi-experimental study with 80 nursing students who were randomly divided into intervention and control groups. We collected the data using a researcher-made checklist. We conducted learning through Telegram, a smartphone messenger application (app), for 3 weeks. We analyzed data using SPSS version 16.0 by utilizing descriptive and inferential statistics, and P < 0.05 was considered to be significant. RESULTS: The mean age of the students was 23.5 ± 2.9 years. The majority of mistakes related to MEs in the control groups included the lack of proper control of the following: high risk medication administration, medication incompatibility interactions, medication administration card, medication dose calculations, adverse drug event recognition, pharmaceutical name recognition during drug selection, aseptic and sterile technique adherence, microbore IV tubing flush practices, IV drip rate adjustment, and medication administration schedules. The mean scores of students' performance were significantly different in the knowledge of preventing MEs between the 2 groups. (P = 0.022). CONCLUSIONS: Smartphone learning with the Telegram messenger app improves nursing student knowledge regarding the prevention of MEs in pediatric patients. We recommend that this form of learning be used in nursing schools to prevent errors related to medication ordering, dosing, and administration.

A Qualitative Study on Cancer Care Burden: Experiences of Iranian Family Caregivers.

The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of Iranian family caregivers with regard to the burden of caregiving. This is in the context of illuminating and identifying the experiences of family members from different contextual perspectives. In this qualitative study, purposive sampling was conducted in 2016. Data were collected using semistructured interviews and were analyzed using content analysis. Data analysis identified 4 categories and 8 subcategories: (1) burnout (physical problems and psychoemotional stress), (2) role conflict (balancing caring roles and family responsibilities; failure in professional or educational roles), (3) health system tensions (inadequate support from health professionals; ignorance of family members in health structure), and (4) social challenges of cancer (economic burden; taboo of cancer). In conclusion, nurses need to provide individualized support and counseling that address the sources of burden. This highlights the benefit of training health care professionals to provide culturally sensitive support based on family caregivers' needs and circumstances.

Going Forward Lightening the Shadow of Cancer: Experiences of Family Caregivers Toward Empowerment.

This qualitative study was conducted to explore the empowerment experiences of family caregivers of patients with cancer. Empowerment consisted of 3 main categories: (1) seeking tranquility with the help of religious beliefs, (2) developing a positive attitude, and (3) restoring control over the situation. Results may help nurses for planning spiritual and supportive care.

Prevalence of depression among students of urmia university of medical sciences (iran).

OBJECTIVE: A depressive disorder is an illness that involves the body, mood, thoughts and behaviors. This study was performed to identify the presence of depression among medical students of Urmia University of Medical Sciences. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 700 undergraduate medical and basic sciences students. Beck depression inventory (BDI) used for data gathering. RESULTS: Mean score of BDI was 10.4 ± 0.8 and 52.6% of students scored under the depression threshold. Four of them had severe depression. RESULTS showed no significant relationship between depression and age, education, sex, rank of birth or duration of education. CONCLUSION: Prevalence of depression that can affect the students' quality of education and social behavior was high in Urmia University of Medical Sciences.