The effects of nursing care guided by self-regulation theory on coping with radiation therapy

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.

A quasi-experimental design with repeated measures.

University-affiliated RT department.

226 patients receiving RT for breast or prostate cancer.

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.

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).

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.

Staff nurses should use self-regulation theory-based interventions to help patients cope with RT.