Effect of structured patient education on level of hope in cancer patient

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of patient participation in a structured education program on the level of hope in cancer patients. The sample consisted of 34 adult subjects diagnosed with cancer within the last five years. The control group (n = 17) consisted of patients receiving care at a private physician's office. The treatment group (n = 17) consisted of participants in a structured education program (I Can Cope) at three sites in the southeastern United States. The Nowotny Hope Scale (NHS) (Nowotny, 1989) was used to measure.hope. A quasiexperimental non-equivalent control group pretest posttest design was utilized tb test the following hypothesis: Adult cancer patients who attend structured educational classes will score higher on a scale measuring hope than those patients who have not attended such a class. Both groups represent naturally occurring collectives and randomization was not possible. The groups were matched by type of cancer diagnosis. The analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) revealed no significant difference (p = .139) in the adjusted posttest scores of the two groups; therefore, the hypothesis was not supported. In this study, the level of hope for participants in a structured education program did not differ from the level of a similar group not attending such a program. However, in view of the attention given to the concept of hope as a factor in facing the diagnosis of cancer it is important that research efforts continue to be directed to the discovery of effective interventions to foster hope.