ABSTRACT
PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To test the hypotheses that preparatory informational interventions based on self-regulation theory delivered to radiation therapy (RT) recipients by staff nurses would reduce disruption in patients' usual life activities and have a positive effect on the moods of patients who tended to have pessimistic expectations about outcomes. DESIGN: A quasi-experimental design with repeated measures. SETTING: University-affiliated RT department. SAMPLE: 226 patients receiving RT for breast or prostate cancer. METHODS: The control-group patients received the nursing care that was the standard of practice before the experimental interventions were introduced. The experimental-group patients received theory-based interventions four different times from staff nurses. Patient data were collected by interview four different times. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: Type of nursing interventions generated, optimistic or pessimistic expectations about outcomes (Life Orientation Test), amount of disruption in usual life activities (Sickness Impact Profile), and moods (Bi-Polar Profile of Mood States). FINDINGS: The patients who received the self-regulation theory-based nursing interventions experienced less disruption in their usual life activities during and following RT. Among the patients who tended to be pessimistic, those who received the theory-based interventions had a more positive mood than those who did not receive the interventions. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: Staff nurses should use self-regulation theory-based interventions to help patients cope with RT.
Subject(s)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy , Internal-External Control , Quality of Life , Radiotherapy/nursing , Self Care , Activities of Daily Living , Adaptation, Psychological , Affect , Analysis of Variance , Breast Neoplasms/nursing , Breast Neoplasms/radiotherapy , Female , Humans , Leisure Activities , Male , Middle Aged , Prostatic Neoplasms/nursing , Prostatic Neoplasms/radiotherapy , Psychological Theory , Radiotherapy/adverse effects , Radiotherapy/psychologyABSTRACT
This study was an examination of perceptions about the causes of coronary artery disease and the timeline of the disease among 105 patients hospitalized because of myocardial infarction or for coronary angiography and receiving the diagnosis of coronary artery disease. Although 79% of subjects named at least one of three modifiable risk factors (smoking, hypertension, elevated cholesterol), only 7% identified all three. Subjects known to have risk factors varied in their recognition of those risks as a cause of their coronary artery disease. Sixty-four percent of smokers recognized smoking as a personal cause of their coronary artery disease, whereas only 15% of subjects with hypertension recognized hypertension as a cause. The majority of subjects (55%) believed that coronary artery disease was a chronic disease. The other subjects were unsure (13%) or believed the situation would be short term (28%). Despite general knowledge about coronary artery disease, individuals with known risk factors continue to be largely ignorant of their personal risks and to some extent of the course of the disease.
