Effectiveness of clinician-involving predischarge and follow-up health education for patients with esophageal cancer

One hundred and eighty three patients with esophageal cancer admitted from September 2015 to September 2016 were randomly divided into two groups: 91 patients received clinician-involving pre-discharge and postoperative follow-up health education (study group) and 92 patients received traditional health education (control group). The quality of life and the compliance rate of comprehensive treatment within 3 months after discharge were evaluated and compared between two groups. The overall scores of quality of life in study group was significantly better than those of the control group (P<0.05), and the compliance rate of comprehensive treatment after discharge in study group was significantly higher than that of control group [82.4%(75/91) vs. 67.4%(62/92), χ2=5.49, P=0.02]. It is suggested that clinician participating in the pre-discharge and follow-up health education can improve the quality of life of patients, and improve the compliance of comprehensive treatment after discharge. Key words: Esophageal neoplasms; Quality of life; Patient education