Recalled side effects and self-care actions of patients receiving inpatient chemotherapy.
PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To increase knowledge of the incidence and severity of chemotherapy side effects, identify self-care actions and their effectiveness, and determine patients' acceptance of and ability to complete Nail's Self-Care Diary (SCD) (Nail, Jones, Greene, Schipper, & Jensen, 1991). DESIGN: Descriptive, retrospective. SETTING: Single medical oncology unit in an urban, tertiary care, private institution. SAMPLE: 59 adult patients with cancer who had received at least one prior cycle of chemotherapy as inpatients were asked to complete the study forms and agreed to participate. METHODS: Eligible and consenting patients completed the SCD, recalling side effects and self-care since their last hospitalization for chemotherapy, as well as patient demographic forms and evaluations of the SCD. Descriptive statistics were used in analysis. FINDINGS: More than 50% of the patients reported having alopecia, fatigue, nausea, taste changes, appetite loss, sleeping difficulties, and constipation during the posthospitalization period. Self-care actions were employed with variable effect. Taking medication was among the most effective self-care actions. The majority of patients found the SCD easy to complete. CONCLUSIONS: Side effects noted by patients in this study were similar to those of other populations. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: This study adds to the literature evaluating specific self-care actions practiced by patients. Nail's SCD was found to be useful in collecting data retrospectively and may serve as a basis for proactive patient teaching regarding side-effect management.