Effect of Orem's Self-Care Model Training Program on Anxiety of Women with Breast Cancer: A Clinical Trial Study

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer and the second leading cause of death after lung cancer and is associated with numerous complications, including anxiety. It seems that organized educational interventions, such as Orem's self-care model, decrease the incidence of complications, such as anxiety. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to determine the effect of the self-care training program based on Orem's model on anxiety of women with cancer undergoing chemotherapy. The present research was a clinical trial study conducted on 70 women with breast cancer, who had referred to educational hospitals of Zahedan, during year 2017. The convenience sampling method was used and data was collected using a demographic questionnaire, the Orem's need assessment form, and the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Data were collected at baseline and four weeks after the end of the last intervention session. The intervention group received training sessions (three 25- to 30-minute sessions) based on the Orem's model, on a weekly basis, yet the control group did not receive any intervention except routine care. The results of statistical tests showed no significant difference between the two groups in terms of distribution of demographic variables, such as age, marital status, level of education, number of children, and occupation. The results of statistical tests also showed a significant difference between pre- and post-anxiety levels in the intervention group and there was no such significant difference in the control group (P < 0.001). Moreover, the results showed a significant difference between the two groups in terms of pre- and post-anxiety changes (P < 0.001). The results of comparing the two groups showed a lower post-intervention anxiety level in the intervention as compared to the control group, although this difference was not significant regarding trait anxiety (P: 0.62) and state anxiety (P: 0.017). Orem's self-care model-based training program can reduce anxiety among patients with breast cancer and can serve as a self-care model for nursing care interventions in these patients.