Heart Pillow - Chemoteraphy

Detailed description 1:

The intervention project is developed during the medical treatment phase and is designed to reconcile multidisciplinary interventions and accompany patients during this phase. Self-care is the central concept of the project, it is multidimensional but the approach in the project is centered on a disease process and people-centered healthcare responses. It is estimated that the early initiation of activities that promote the recovery of self-care and the reduction of complications resulting from immobility of the homolateral upper limb or the formation of scar adhesions may reduce the time and costs dedicated to rehabilitation care at a later stage.

The study includes personalized interventions, carried out with patients every three weeks, from the beginning until discharge from chemotherapy treatment. Once informed consent has been obtained, the first session carried out by the rehabilitation nurse includes the patient's assessment, the allocation of the Heart pillow with a teaching session and training for its use. The first assessment includes: sociodemographic and health characterization, assessment of symptoms and quality of life (EORTC QLQ-C3 version 3.0 and EORTC QLQ-Br23), independence in ADL (Barthel Scale), upper limb functionality (DASH Portuguese version), sleep quality (PSQI-PT), assessment of grip strength by dynamometry (Dynamometry), assessment of the range of movement of the upper limbs by goniometry and assessment of the presence of edema by measuring the limb circumference. The data collected at this stage are analyzed from a clinical perspective to define the individual care plan: Intervention in self-care and the symptoms mentioned.

Every 3 weeks, the assessment of symptoms, independence of daily activities, strength, range of movement and lymphedema are repeated, providing data on progress but also for assessing the individual care plan from which teaching and training interventions are carried out, appropriate for each participant.

The final assessment coincides with the completion of the last chemotherapy treatment session, the assessments of the intermediate phase are repeated and independence in instrumental activities and sleep quality are assessed.