Effect of a telephone-based perioperative nurse-led counselling programme on unmet needs, quality of life and sexual function in colorectal cancer patients: A non-randomised quasi-experimental study

To investigate the effect of perioperative nurse-led counselling intervention on unmet needs, sexual function and quality of life in colorectal cancer patients. This quasi-experimental study included 82 patients who underwent colorectal cancer surgery (control n = 45, intervention n = 37). The telephone-based perioperative nurse-led counselling intervention, which contained implementation, follow-up, and assessment, was applied to start from pre-surgery to post-surgery 3rd month. Data were collected with the Unmet Needs of Cancer Survivors Scale, European Organisation for Treatment and Research of Cancer Quality of Life Scale-30, Colorectal-29, Female Sexual Function Index, and International Index of Erectile Function pre- and post-surgery 3rd-6th months. The control data was collected before the pandemic, and the intervention group throughout the pandemic. The Mann-Whitney-U, Wilcoxon rank test was used. Compared to the control group, intervention group patients reported lower unmet and total needs scores (p = 0.000); higher quality of life (p = 0.000), physical, emotional (p = 0.000), role (p = 0.001), and social functioning scores (p = 0.002); lower fatigue (p = 0.000), constipation (p = 0.034), pain (p = 0.018), nausea-vomiting (p = 0.004), and insomnia scores (p = 0.003); and higher body image, anxiety (p = 0.000) and weight scores (p = 0.003), lower urinary frequency buttock pain (p = 0.000), dysuria (p = 0.001), abdominal pain (p = 0.001), fluctuance (p = 0.000), stool frequency (p = 0.002), and faecal incontinence (p = 0.006) scores at the sixth month (p 0.05). Perioperative nurse-led counselling reduced unmet needs and increased the overall quality of life by decreasing symptom levels but did not affect sexual health outcomes in patients with colorectal cancer surgery. •The perioperative nurse-led counselling reduced the healthcare-related unmet needs and increased the overall quality of life by decreasing symptom levels in patients who underwent colorectal cancer surgery.•The perioperative nurse-led counselling intervention did not affect the level of sexual function so sexual counselling should be offered to sexually active patients before surgery.•Participation of the colorectal nurse in the colorectal surgery councils enables collaboration with the multidisciplinary team and sustainable better holistic care.