Effect of post mastectomy nursing intervention program on elderly women’s knowledge, practices and complications’ prevention

Abstract

Background: Mastectomy is a cornerstone of disease management for breast cancer. Nurses are in a prime position to prevent postoperative complications, including seroma formation, wound infection, arm pain, stiffness, lymphedema and compromised range of motion of the shoulder and arm.Aim:to evaluate the effect of post mastectomy nursing intervention program on elderly women’s knowledge, practices, and complications’ prevention. Design: Quasi experimental pre/post one group design was utilized. Setting: The study was conducted in the inpatient and outpatient clinics of the breast cancer hospital, at the National Cancer Institute affiliated to Cairo University.Sample:120 elderly women aged 60 years or older who were assigned for mastectomy were included in the study. Tools:1- A structured Personal and Medical History Questionnaire, 2-The Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) Questionnaire,3-Exercises Observational Checklist,4-Pre /Post Mastectomy Elderly women's Knowledge Questionnaire,5-Pain Assessment Scale and6- Post Mastectomy Complications Checklist. Results: age of elderly women ranged from 65 to 69 years with mean age of 68.5 and SD =± 9.2.Regarding to arm, shoulder & hand disabilities, in the pretest there were no disabilities as compared to majority of elderly women who hadmoderate difficulties at the post & follow-up assessment. Pain, numbness and restricted shoulder movement was prevalent among study sample.Conversely, some complications demonstrate consistent prevalence rates across both assessments, such as "Lymphedema. A highly statistically significant improvement was found in the elderly women regarding their practices and knowledge levels in post-program implementation than pre-program with P-value <0.001 **.Conclusion: Application of post mastectomy nursing intervention program had a positive effect on performance and knowledge of elderly women after mastectomy which contributed to complications’ prevention.Recommendations: Replication of the study on a larger number of breast cancer patients.