Effects of a Post-Discharge Care Program for Surgery Patients with Brain Tumor

Post-discharge interventions addressing psychological, informational, and practical needs of brain tumor surgery patients are limited. This study aimed to develop and examine the effects of a post-discharge care program for patients with benign brain tumors who underwent surgery.

A quasi-experimental study with a nonequivalent control group pretest-post-test non-synchronized design was employed. The post-discharge care program was developed using the ADDIE model and delivered as an 8-week, 8-session program to 65 discharged patients (Intervention: n = 33, Control: n = 32). Outcomes were measured using the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale (MSAS) for symptom clusters, Post-Discharge Coping Difficulty Scale (PDCDS) for post-discharge adaptation, and Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy (FACIT) for quality of life.

Significant group × time interactions were found between intervention and control groups for symptom clusters (F = 74.878, p < 0.001), post-discharge adaptation (F = 144.687, p < 0.001), and all quality of life domains: physical (F = 38.996, p < 0.001), social/family (F = 50.865, p < 0.001), emotional (F = 39.110, p < 0.001), and functional (F = 38.917, p < 0.001). The intervention group showed clinically meaningful improvements across all outcomes.

This study demonstrates that the post-discharge care program was effective in improving symptom clusters, post-discharge adaptation, and quality of life in patients with benign brain tumors who underwent surgery. The program can contribute to achieving better health outcomes for this population in clinical practice.