Efficacy of a brief nurse-led pilot psychosocial intervention for newly diagnosed Asian cancer patients

Purpose Cancer patients experience distress and high levels of psychosocial concerns. However, in Asian countries like Singapore, patients are often unwilling to seek support and help from mental healthcare professionals, but, instead, are more willing to confide in nurses. This quasi-experimental study developed and tested the efficacy of a brief nurse-led psychosocial intervention to alleviate these patients’ distress, minor psychiatric morbidity, and psychosocial concerns. Methods The semi-structured intervention comprised 20- to 30-minute face-to-face sessions with trained oncology nurses, monthly for 2 months and then bimonthly for 4 months. Patients received psycho-education on symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression and counseling and were taught behavioral techniques such as deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, and positive self-talk. Results The results of this study found that patients who received the intervention had reduced distress, depression, and anxiety levels and improved quality of life (QOL) at 6 months. Conclusions Although further research is necessary to explore the efficacy and viability of this intervention, findings support brief nurse-led psycho-educational interventions in Asian settings especially for cancer patients reluctant to seek help from mental health professionals.