Kendi Kendine Lenfödem Yönetiminin, Lenfödem Gelişimi Ve Yaşam Kalitesi Üzerine Etkisinin Belirlenmesi

Abstract

Temur, Kübra, Determination of the Effect of Self-Management of Lymphedema on Lymphedema Development and Quality of Life, Hacettepe University, Institute of Health Sciences, Internal Medicine Nursing Program, Master’s Thesis, Ankara, 2017. The aim of our randomized controlled study is to determine the effect of self-management of lymphedema on lymphedema development and quality of life. The research was carried out at Hacettepe University Adult Hospitals General Surgery Department. In the study, patients were stratified according to the age and body mass index via block randomization method. A total of 61 breast cancer patients (sample strength 90%), assigned to either intervention (n = 30) group or control group (n = 31), were included in the study. In the intervention group, patients were provided a training and a training booklet containing "exercise, massage and prevention methods" as a part of the Self-Lymphedema Management programme by the researchers. Patients were followed for 6 months by telephone and monthly clinical check-ups. During the study period, no intervention was introduced to control group (n = 31) except for routine hospital practices (training and training booklet were given at the end of the study). Patients of the intervention and control groups were evaluated in the pre-operative period and at post-operative 1., 3., and 6. months by "Questionnaire on Arm, Shoulder and Hand Problems", "Measurement of Upper Extremity", "European Cancer Research and Treatment Organization Quality of Life Survey Questionnaire QLQ-30 And a sub-module BR-23 questionnaire". Mann Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis H test, Wicoxon test and Friedman test were used for the statistical analysis of the data. At the end of the study, while lymphedema development was not observed in the the intervention group, 61.2% of the control patients developed lymphedema. The quality of life of the intervention group was higher than the control group. Moreover, the symptom scores of the intervention group were found to be significantly lower than the control group. As a result of our research; Self-Management of Lymphedema Method can be concluded to be effective in preventing lymphedema development following breast cancer treatment and improving the quality of life of patients. We recommend that the Self-Management of the Lymphedema program should be carried out by the nurses for the prevention and management of the breast cancer-related lymphedema.