Improving cancer patients' adjustment to infusion chemotherapy: Evaluation of a patient education program

Portable infusion pumps allow patients to self-administer chemotherapy on an outpatient basis. Successful treatment with these pumps depends upon systematic screening, education, and evaluation of patients selected for infusion treatment. The UCLA Division of Surgical Oncology has been using portable infusion pumps since 1975 for patients with metastatic hepatic tumors treated by hepatic arterial infusion (HAI) chemotherapy. Earlier HAI candidates received instructions from a nurse trained in patient education procedures who relied upon time-consuming individualized instruction. In a previous paper,1 the disadvantages of this method of instruction were described in detail. In this paper, we describe the implementation and evaluation of an alternative educational program using audiovisual and printed materials particularly developed for the HAI candidates. Results suggest that such a structured program can decrease nurse instruction time by at least 50% without compromising instructional objectives or the quality of nurse-patient interaction.