Efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy and nutritional counseling to improve quality of life in breast cancer patients in south-western Nigeria

Abstract

The primary clinical goals of treatment for cancer, other chronic illnesses, and terminal diseases are to manage symptoms and improve the quality of life (QoL). The aim of this study is to investigate the three-way interaction effect of nutritional counselling (NC) and cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) on the QoL of breast cancer patients in south-western Nigeria. This study employed a pre-test-post-test quasi-experimental design with a 3 × 2 × 3 factorial matrix, involving 92 breast cancer patients. The first three levels were CBT, NC, and control, followed by two levels of psychological distress (PD), and three levels of risk of malnutrition (RoM). The instruments used include the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer QoL Questionnaire (general and breast cancer-specific; α = 0.80), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (α = 0.83), the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (α = 0.81), and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast for screening. Data were analyzed using analysis of covariance and estimated marginal means at the significance level p < 0.05. There was a significant three-way interaction among treatment, PD, and RoM (F_(4,73) = 3.44, partial η² = 0.16), with the greatest improvement (mean score = 131.52) in participants with low levels of PD and RoM in the NC group. This study underscores the synergistic impact of treatment, PD, and RoM on the QoL of breast cancer patients in south-western Nigeria. Breast cancer patients should be screened for distress and malnutrition risk and have access to appropriate psychological and nutritional care.

Keywords

Cognitive behavior therapy / Nutritional counselling / Multidisciplinary approach / Quality of life / Breast cancer patients

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