Nurse-Led Mobile App Effect on Quality of Life in Breast Cancer Patients After Surgery: Nonrandomized Controlled Prospective Cohort Study (Step 3)

Abstract

Background: Following surgery, women with breast cancer (BC) frequently experience emotional and physiological negative consequences.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of a nurse-led mobile app (NL-Mapp) intervention on quality of life (QoL) in patients after surgery for BC.

Methods: This single-center, 12-month, nonrandomized controlled trial, with 2 parallel groups, represents the final stage of 3-step research. In this study, women were assigned to either the intervention (n = 45) or control (n = 45) group. The intervention group participated in the NL-Mapp, whereas participants in the control group received standard care. The main outcomes were measured using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast at 3 time points (baseline and 1 and 12 months after the intervention). Clinical Trial number: NCT06505538.

Results: The intervention participants reported significant improvement in physical well-being, emotional well-being, and the BC-specific subscale compared with the control group at the 1-month postsurgery mark. Equally noteworthy, at the 1-year follow-up, consistent improvements were observed across all QoL subscale scores for the intervention group, except for the BC-specific subscale for additional concerns.

Conclusion: Our study revealed a notable enhancement in the QoL among postoperative women with BC who utilized the NL-Mapp. This program emerges as an effective intervention for providing short-term and longer-term supportive care to women affected by BC, leading to tangible improvements in their QoL.

Implication for nursing: The study's findings offer valuable evidence supporting the integration of mobile health services into clinical and transitional nursing care.

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