Telenursing and Breast Cancer: The Turkish Case

This study aims to determine the effectiveness of telenursing services on chemotherapy symptoms and comfort levels in patients with breast cancer in Turkey. The study employs an experimental research methodology with a sample of 96 ambulatory patients (48 experimental, 48 control) who were receiving chemotherapy for breast cancer for the first time in a state hospital. Research data were collected by using "Patient Information Form", "Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale", "General Comfort Questionnaire, "Symptoms Follow-up Form", and "Telephone Call Form". The experimental group received telenursing service every week until the end of the four-cycle chemotherapy treatment, which started one week after the first treatment. The control group did not receive any intervention. Investigators analyzed data with SPSS 15.0 (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) with comparative statistical methods of MannWhitney U Test, Chi-Square Test, One Way Analysis of Variance in Repeated Measurements, and Pearson Correlation.