| The purpose of this dissertation was to determine the effect of a six-week self-care nursing intervention on the Total Mood Disturbance (TMD) scores of oncology patients with metastatic bone pain in comparison to similar patients who received standard care cancer pain treatment.; A random sample of 174 adult oncology outpatients with a Kamofsky Performance Status (KPS) score of ≥50, an average pain intensity score of ≥2.5, and radiographic evidence of bone metastasis were recruited from seven outpatient oncology settings. The patients were recruited for this randomized control trial that tested that effectiveness of the PRO-SELF©: Pain Control Program to improve cancer pain management. Patients who completed both the week one and the week six instruments (i.e., Profile of Mood States-Short Form) were included in this analysis.; The results of the quantitative analysis found that there were no significant differences in the TMD scores of oncology patients who participated in the PRO-SELF© intervention compared to patients who received standard care. However, a statistical significance was found for gender and TMD mean differences that indicated within group differences. The findings from this study suggest that gender influenced reported mood disturbance among the intervention group.; This investigation found that women and men report mood disturbance differently when participating in a psychoeducational intervention while undergoing medical treatment for metastatic bone pain. While further investigation is needed into the area of self-report of mood disturbance and gender differences, this investigation restated the importance of the integration of medical and psychological interventions when addressing mood disturbance among oncology patients. |
