A Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention for the Symptom Clusters of Chinese Patients With Gastrointestinal Tract Cancer Undergoing Chemotherapy: A Pilot Study.

BACKGROUND: Patients with gastrointestinal tract (GIT) cancer undergoing chemotherapy often experience several symptoms that constitute symptom clusters and can cause patients to suffer. Effective interventions are lacking for this kind of patients.

OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study were to test the feasibility and acceptability of a cognitive-behavioral (CB) intervention developed for Chinese patients with GIT cancer undergoing chemotherapy and to estimate the efficacy of the intervention for symptom clusters.

METHODS: In this pilot, quasi-randomized controlled trial, 40 patients were assigned to the CB intervention or control group. The CB intervention, considering characteristics of patients and Chinese culture, contained 4 sections including cognitive reframing, cancer-diet education, relaxation, and exercise techniques. Symptom clusters, illness perception, anxiety, and depression were measured.

RESULTS: Thirty-nine patients (97.5%) completed the study program and expressed willingness to follow the intervention. Compared with the control group, all outcomes were improved (all P < .05) in the CB group after the intervention, except for the gastrointestinal symptom cluster (t = 0.25, P = .802). In the CB group, the scores of all outcomes (all P < .05) decreased except for depression (t = 1.76, P = .095).

CONCLUSION: The CB intervention is partially feasible and acceptable. It may also help to improve part of the symptom clusters of Chinese patients with GIT cancer undergoing chemotherapy. However, some modifications are needed in future studies to better test effectiveness.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Symptom management remains a major problem in clinical nursing. Such a CB intervention can be beneficial to the clinical management of symptom clusters.