Designing an Educational-Therapeutic Package Based on Cognitive-Behavioral Approaches and Examining its efficacy in Managing Psychological Distresses of Cancer Patients Undergoing Surgery

Background: There are numerous evidences indicating that pre-operative psychological state of the patients can potentially affect their outcomes. Therefore, in the present study we aimed to design an educational-therapeutic package based on cognitive-behavioral approaches to manage and reduce the psychological distresses of gastric and breast cancer patients undergoing surgery. Methods: This is a semi-experimental study with pre-test- post-test type and control group. The participants were among the cancer patients referred to the hospitals of Ardebil city in 2019 who candidated for surgery. Forty patients were selected as the study sample and were randomly divided into the two groups of case (n=20) and control (n=20). The cases of intervention group received pre-operative education through one week prior to admission for surgery. Data was collected using the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale - 21 (DASS-21) questionarie. The data analysis was done using covariance analysis by SPSS software. Results: Based on the results, patients who received pre-operative education had significantly less anxiety (F= 1.712, P <0.001) stress (F =1.74, P <0.005) and depression (F= 2.012, P <0.001). Conclusion: According to the findings, the designed educational-therapeutic package could efficiently improve the psychological state of the cancer patients undergoing surgery and potentially may enhance their post-operative outcomes. Such educational interventions could also affect the other pre- and post-operative measures including nursing, anesthesia procedures, pain control and etc. therefore, have a potential to be added to the therapeutic regimen.