AN EDUCATIONAL NURSING INTERVENTION TO ENHANCE COPING, AFFECTIVE STATE, AND DELAYED CUTANEOUS HYPERSENSITIVITY IN NEWLY DIAGNOSED MALIGNANT MELANOMA PATIENTS.
Contributors: University of California, Los Angeles.
Published: 1991
Number of pages: 182
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Health Sciences, Immunology.
Description: This study utilized the Comprehensive Health Seeking and Coping Paradigm to determine if an educational nursing intervention consisting of: (1) health education; (2) stress management; and (3) coping and problem solving skills could enhance the coping behavior, affective state, perception of physical health, and delayed cutaneous hypersensitivity, as measured by the Multitest CMI, of newly diagnosed malignant melanoma patients.

Nineteen Stage I and 42 Stage II patients were randomized to either a control group, which received only the standard information, or to an experimental group that also received an educational manual plus three hours of teaching from a nurse.

Experimental patients were using significantly less of the ineffective passive resignation coping strategy than were the controls at the three month follow-up. There were no significant differences between groups in the use of the other methods and strategies or in perception of physical health.

Despite randomization, the experimental group had some significantly higher baseline affective distress scores which disappeared at the six week and three month follow-up. Although no significant differences between group means were found at follow-up it appeared that the experimental groups scores were decreasing. By three months there was a complete reversal of the baseline trend in POMS Total Mood Disturbance(TMD) suggesting that the experimental subjects were experiencing less distress over time. Between group analysis of change scores found significant decreases in the experimental group in POMS TMD and anxiety as well as BSI somatization. Significant within experimental group changes were also found. No significant between or within group changes were found for the controls.

Only Stage I patients were skin tested. No significant differences were found between groups for their induration scores or number of reactions. A significant within group increase in the number of reactions was found in the experimental group. All subjects exhibited an unexpected cumulative deficiency rate of 72% (anergy plus hypoergy) at baseline which was high compared to other cancer studies using the Multitest CMI. The deficiency rate dropped to 33.3% at three months. This was lower than the deficiency seen in other studies of cancer patients but higher than values seen in healthy individuals.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-04, Section: B, page: 1951.

Thesis (D.N.SC.)--UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES, 1991.

School code: 0031.