Outcomes of Education by Using Social Media in Cancer Patients at Rajavithi Hospital

Abstract

Background: Capecitabine is an orally-administered chemotherapy drug being increasingly to cancer patients.  If they were very severe side effects (Hand-foot syndrome, severe diarrhea, infection) treatment would be discontinued or dosage was reduced. So nurses should educate the patients must self-care at home.

Objective: To examine the side effects in patients taking capecitabine two groups, one advice and self-care through the LINE group application and the other receiving conventional care, were compared for side effects. The results were analyzed for other factors linked to side-effects

Methods: A study on cancer patients receiving capecitabine treatment at the medical oncology unit Rajavithi Hospital between January 2018 to July 2019. In a quasi-experimental, using questionnaires, side effects were recorded by means of patient interviews. There were 30 patients in each group, all of whom received information packs of capecitabine treatment and distributed information to both groups. The experimental group was the ‘LINE’ group. Data was collected after each cycle of capecitabine treatment. 

Results: No difference in side effects between two groups, with 80.0 % suffering from hand-foot syndromes, fatigue, insomnia at 51.7% and 46.7% respectively. Variables associated with side effects were gender, type of tumor, ECOG score, radiation therapy and cycle of treatment. Male,  stomach cancer patients, chemoradiotherapy suffered from diarrhea (p-value = 0.005, 0.000). ECOG score at 0 score suffered mucositis (p =0.002). Patients who received 2^nd cycles and 7^th cycle suffered hand-foot syndrome (P=0.021, 0.031) respectively.

Conclusion: Nursing professionals should provide patient care and education either via social media or through standard methods in order to mitigate the severity of side effects impacting treatment and prognosis.