The Implementation of a Discharge Planning to Improve Quality of Life in Breast Cancer Patients: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Breast surgery for women newly diagnosed with breast cancer is associated with poor postoperative quality of life (QOL). The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a programmed discharge planning in improving overall QOL and its physical, emotional, social, and spiritual domains. In this quasi-experimental study, we evaluated the newly diagnosed breast cancer women undergoing breast-conserving therapy in two groups, an experimental group (n = 35) and a control group (n = 34). The experimental group received programmed discharge planning at the time of hospital admission until six weeks after discharge. The control group received routine hospital care. Participants completed the QOL questionnaires before and after the intervention. The data were analyzed using the independent-samples t test, Fisher exact test, and Mann-Whitney U. Before the intervention, there were no significant differences between the control and experimental groups in overall QOL or its physical, emotional, social, and spiritual domains. The data analysis after intervention showed significant improvement in QOL in the experimental group as compared with the control group. The changes in the scores of various domains of QOL were statistically significant (P < 0.01). This study emphasizes that programmed discharge planning is useful for improving QOL after breast-conserving surgery. Our finding could be applied to breast cancer patients with radiation therapy or chemotherapy.