Context: Hepatocellular carcinoma is the prevailing form of primary liver cancer among adults and currently ranks as the primary
cause of mortality in cirrhosis individuals. Globally, hepatocellular carcinoma holds the sixth position in terms of cancer-related
fatalities. Efforts are underway to leverage self-care approaches, combining local and regional treatments with systemic therapeutic
protocols to enhance patient outcomes throughout various disease stages.
Aim: Evaluate the effect of self-care strategies on patients with hepatocellular carcinoma health outcomes.
Methods: A quasi-experimental research, specifically a one-group pre/post-test design, was employed in this study. The research
was conducted in the internal medicine units of Tanta Cancer Center, Tanta, Egypt. The study included a purposive sample of 60
patients of both genders over nine months. Three assessment tools were utilized: A structured interview questionnaire for gathering
personal information, medical history, and patient knowledge, a self-care practice assessment scale, and a health outcomes
assessment scale.
Results: Patients' knowledge scores regarding all the knowledge elements improved significantly post-implementation of self-care
strategies compared with their pre-intervention levels. Total knowledge score improved post-self-care strategies implementation from
20% to 81.7% with a statistically significant difference between pre and post-implementation of the self-care strategies (X2
=5.496,
p=0.019). Also, the total self-care practice score increased from 16.7% to 68.3%, with a statistically significant difference between
pre and post-implementation of the self-care strategies (X2
=5.561, p=0.018). Regarding patients' health outcomes improved from
experiencing severe symptoms among 53.4% to 6.7% post one month, respectively, with a statistically significant difference between
pre and post-implementation of the self-care strategies regarding all assessed health outcomes (p |
