Authors: Rangsan Chaikham, Lawan Raksanaves, Nantaporn Pichaya.
Background: This quasi-experimental research was to investigate the effects of empowerment programs on caregivers in caring for head and neck cancer patients with malnutrition.
Methods: A random sampling was used to recruit a sample of 30 caregivers, divided into 15 caregivers in the experimental group and 15 in the control group. Data were collected between April 2019 to August 2019. The experimental group received individual empowerment programs and the control group received regular training, over a total of 8 weeks. The structured interview used for data collection included perceived empowered and caring behaviors in the period pre-experiment, immediately after the experiment, and one month after. Data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA.
Results: 1) The caregivers in the experimental group had a mean score of the perceived empowered and caring behaviors in the period immediately after the experiment and one month after higher than in the period pre-experiment at the 0.05 level of significance. 2) The caregivers in the experimental group had a mean score of the perceived empowered and caring behaviors in the period immediately after the experiment and one month after, higher than the control group at the 0.05 level of significance.
Conclusion: The findings are beneficial for nurses and related parties using the empowerment program as the key tool to increase feelings of empowerment in caregivers and improve their caring behavior with respect to their care of malnourished head and neck cancer patients, and achieving a good quality of life for them.
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