Health Education and Nursing Needs of Breast Cancer Patients With Totally Implantable Venous Access Ports at Different Stages

Context . The totally implantable venous access port (TIVAP) is an intravenous-infusion device, with a lower complication rate than other such devices. If patients fail to maintain the catheter, however, complications can still occur. Patients' needs may vary by the period of the port's use. Objective . The study intended to explore the differences in the needs of breast-cancer (BC) patients with TIVAPs for health education and nursing care at different periods of the port's use and to determine the kinds of targeted health education that can improve patients' quality of life. Design . The research team designed a questionnaire that the participants completed. Setting . The study took place at the Breast Center at the Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University in Shijiazhuang, China. Participants . Participants were 442 BC patients at the hospital between March and June 2020, who had TIVAPs at different stages. Groups . The study included three groups: (1) the preoperative group-participants in the preoperative period prior to the TIVAP implantation after they had signed a consent; (2) the chemotherapy groupparticipants in the chemotherapy period during the TIVAP's use for chemotherapy-agent transfusion, and (3) the maintenance group-participants in the maintenance period during which the TIVAD was in place but wasn't being used. Outcome Measures . The research team analyzed the results from the questionnaires, categorizing them as: (1) methods of knowledge acquisition, (2) methods of distribution of knowledge, (3) needs of participants in the different groups, and (4) distribution of symptoms among the groups. Results . Compared to other methods, the nursing staff was the main source that participants used to access the TIVAP-related information at different periods: preoperative group (79.6%), chemotherapy group (90.7%), and maintenance group (90.2%).The differences between the periods were statistically significant (P =.00). A traditional mode of education- the medical staff's explanations-was the most common in all groups: preoperative group (79.6%), chemotherapy group (83.3%), and (3) maintenance group (80.7%). Patients wanted new modes of receiving information: talks, a poster, and a medical system. TIVAP patients paid different amounts of attention to educational contents at the different stages (.2 = 29.816, P =.00). Conclusions . BC patients' needs for health education and nursing vary at different stages when using TIVAPs. Nurses are the main source of knowledge about TIVAP in different periods for BC patients, and the nurses should obtain multidisciplinary health knowledge to enhance the benefits of the education for patients. The current education for patient is traditional, and hospitals need to implement new modes of education such as medical systems and network platforms, lectures, and posters for health education. (Altern Ther Health Med. 2023;29(2):2228)