Effect of Symptom Navi Program on Outcomes for Patients Receiving Cancer Treatment: A quasi-experimental study

Evidence suggests that healthcare professionals should provide supportive care to cancer patients to address their informational, practical, emotional, and psychosocial requirements, therefore Symptom Navi© program is a nurse-led program that helps patients with cancer better control their symptoms. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the effect of implementing the Symptom Navi© program on outcomes for patients with cancer. A quasi-experimental research design was applied on two groups (study & control), 120 patients for each group were selected from the outpatient clinic of Mansoura oncology Center, Egypt. Five tools were used to gather data: The Socio-demographic and patients’ medical history data sheet, The M. D. Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI), the Self-Efficacy for Managing Chronic Diseases 6-item Scale, the Single-Item Linear Analog Scale Assessment (LASA), and the patient-reported chemotherapy indicators of symptoms and experiences. Results indicate that after applying the Symptom Navi© program on the study group, there was a significant difference (p < 0.05) in the mean scores of MDASI, Symptoms Interfere with Life, and the self-efficacy for managing chronic disease. The patient-reported chemotherapy indicators of symptoms and experiences (PR-CISE), and the LASE Scale for emotional wellbeing also differs significantly. Conclusion: The SN©P can be used as an effective nurse-led intervention to improve the routine care procedures in the outpatient cancer context and assist patients in managing their own symptoms. Recommendations: The SN©P is recommended to be applied within daily routines care and self-management implementation of patients with cancer.