IMPACT OF EDUCATIONAL INTERVENTIONS ON PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS DURING ALLOGENEIC HEMATOPOIETIC STEM CELL TRANSPLANTATION: A RANDOMIZED STUDY.

Background Physical and psychological factors, like wrong attitudes and behaviours, can negatively influence health outcomes of the patients receiving allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT). Educational interventions aiming to improve knowledge on side effects, risks, complications and preventive behaviour can reduce psychological distress, and improve quality of life (QoL). We aimed to compare a standard approach with therapeutic patient education (TPE) to analyse the impact on AHSCT patients’ QoL, psychological distress and knowledge of AHSCT side effects, risks complications and preventive behaviour. Material and methods A prospective interventional study was conducted analysing data of 36 patients who received one of two different educational approaches, which were a standard approach (not-exposed) or TPE (exposed). Results In the exposed group QoL improved 14 days after transplantation (42.2 vs 25.6; p