A Telemedicine-Delivered Nursing Intervention for Cancer-Related Distress in Rural Survivors

Objectives: To evaluate preliminary efficacy, fidelity, and integrity of data collection of a nurse-led, telemedicine-delivered video visit intervention aimed at improving management of rural survivors’ cancer-related distress symptoms.

Sample & Setting: 21 rural survivors participated in a nurse-led telemedicine intervention delivered six weeks after the end of active cancer treatment.

Methods & Variables: Participants’ symptom management was measured with the Short Form Survivor Unmet Needs Survey, a four-factor, 30-item instrument that measures the unmet needs of adult survivors. Data were collected preintervention and six weeks postintervention.

Results: The mean difference between pre- and postintervention survey scores was –0.24, representing an overall improvement in management of unmet needs. The unmet emotional needs domain had the highest mean preintervention score and the largest mean reduction. All effect sizes were small.

Implications for Nursing: A nurse-led, telemedicine-delivered video visit intervention may improve rural survivors’ symptom management during early survivorship. Comparison with a control group using a sample size powered to detect clinically meaningful differences is an important next step to fully evaluate the impact of this model of care.