Development of Nurse-led Navigation Program for Gastric Cancer Patients with Gastrectomy: Exploring the Effectiveness

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of a nurse-led navigation program for gastric cancer patients with gastrectomy. Method: The experimental group consisted of 23 patients and the control group consisted of 22 patientswith gastric cancer after gastrectomy in K university hospital in Korea.A quasi-experimental study with a nonequivalent control group was used. This study consists of two phases: a methodological study to develop a navigation program for gastric cancer patients and a quasi-experimental study to verify the effects of the navigation program. The navigation program was administered to the experimental group over 3 months with a total of 8 sessions. Result:The experimental group had lower distress than the control group (F = 5.298, p = 0.004). Theexperimental group had less weight changes than the control group (F = 4.390, p = 0.019), and the healthcare service satisfaction with regard to nurses was high (Z = 2.932, p = 0.003). However, the quality of life was not significantly different(F = 5.905, p = 0.707). Conclusion: The nurse-led navigation program for gastric cancer patients was effective at reducing distress, improving nutritional status, and increasing satisfaction with healthcare services. It is suggested to conduct long-term follow-up research to measure quality of life changes from the navigation program.