A PRE-EXPERIMENTAL STUDY TO EVALUATE THE IMPACT OF STRUCTURED TEACHING PROGRAM ON KNOWLEDGE REGARDING MANAGEMENT OF COMMON SIDE EFFECTS OF CHEMOTHERAPY AMONG CANCER PATIENTS ADMITTED AT SHER-I-KASHMIR INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCES SOURA SRINAGAR KASHMIR

Cancer is a disease of the cell in which the normal mechanism of the control of growth and proliferation has been altered. It is invasive spreading directly to surrounding tissue as well to new sites in the body. According to Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in 2016 the total number of new cancer cases was expected to be around 14.5 lakh and the figure is likely to reach nearly 17.3 lakh new cases in 2020. Over 7.36 lakh people were expected to succumb to the disease in 2016 while the figure is estimated to shoot up to 8.8 lakh by 2020. One way to stop the cancer from growing is to interfere with the cancer cell ability to multiple. There are several methods being utilized, in which chemotherapy is an important modality in cancer treatment.Every treatment has got its own merits and demerits for the cancer patient who is at the receiving end. TheCommon side effects of chemotherapy include mucositis, nausea, vomiting, taste changes, alopecia and fatigue. So, one should understand the condition of these patients. Aim: To investigate the impact of structured teaching programme on knowledge regarding management of common side effects of chemotherapy among cancer patients admitted at Sher-I-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences Soura Srinagar Kashmir. Methods: Quantitative research approach and pre-experimental one group pre-test post-test design was used. Purposive sampling technique was used to select the sample, that were 50 cancer patients admitted in Medical oncology and Hematology wards of SKIMS Hospital Srinagar Kashmir respectively. Data was collected by using Structured Interview Schedule. Results: The result of the study showed that the posttest (Mean±SD) knowledge score of the study subjects was (47.48±3.710) which was significantly higher than the mean pretest knowledge scores (29.78 ±5.281) of study subjects at 0.05 level of significance. This indicates that structured teaching programme was effective in increasing the knowledge score of patients regarding management of common side effects of chemotherapy. The association of demographic variables with pre-test knowledge scores was analyzed by using Chi square test, which revealed that there was significant association between pre-test knowledge score and educational status (p=0.001) at 0.05 level of significance and no association was found with other demographic variables i.e. age, gender, residence and duration of illness. Conclusion: The findings of the study concluded that in the pre-test patients were having satisfactory knowledge regarding management of common side effects of chemotherapy. The mean post-test knowledge score increased after administration of structured teaching programme indicating that structured teaching programme was effective in improving knowledge of patients regarding management of common side effects of chemotherapy.