Jundishapur Scientific Medical Journal

Jundishapur Scientific Medical Journal

Investigating the Effect of Educational Intervention and Social Support on Quality of Life in Patients with Cancer

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Fatemeh Karimi 1
Tayebeh Rakhshani 2
Ali Khani Jeyhouni 3
1 M.Sc. Nursing, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Public Health, School of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
3 Associate Professor, Department of Public Health, School of Health, Fasa University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
10.22118/jsmj.2025.465437.3583
Abstract
Background and Objectives Cancer is one of the most common chronic diseases that significantly affects patients' health and, consequently, their quality of life. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a five-dimensional educational intervention (nursing, exercise, nutrition, spiritual, and psychological) on the quality of life of cancer patients.
Subjects and Methods In this randomized clinical trial, 150 volunteer patients referred to Imam Hassan Mojtaba Chemotherapy Center in Dezful in 2018 were randomly selected and assigned to three groups: "education only," "education with family involvement," and "control." The intervention included eight training sessions covering five dimensions. Quality of life was measured using the standardized EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire in two phases: pre-test and post-test.
Results Following the intervention, a significant improvement was observed in physical functioning domains, with greater changes in the “education with family” group (P = 0.038). Additionally, as far as symptom subscales were concerned, there was a significant reduction in fatigue (P=0.010), dyspnea (P= 0.006), and constipation (P = 0.042) in the intervention groups. The reductions in fatigue (P = 0.032) and constipation (P = 0.032) were significant only in the “education with family” group compared to the control group.
Conclusion The results of this study demonstrated that the five-dimensional educational intervention can play an effective role in improving the quality of life in cancer patients. Furthermore, the involvement of family members in the educational process had a more positive impact on both therapeutic and psychological outcomes for patients.
Keywords
Health education
Social support
Family involvement
Quality of life
Cancer
Subjects
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  • Receive Date 30 June 2024
  • Revise Date 29 June 2025
  • Accept Date 17 August 2025