The Effect of the Oral Self-Care Protocol on Mucositis and Self-Care Agency According to Orem's Self-Care Deficiency Theory in Patients With Hematologic Malignancies Receiving High-Dose Chemotherapy: A Randomized Controlled Study

Objective: This study was conducted in order to examine the effect of oral self-care protocol based on Orem's Self-Care Deficiency Theory on oral mucositis and self-care agency.

Method: This study was conducted as a randomized controlled trial between August 2021 and July 2022, patients with hematological malignancies receiving high-dose chemotherapy at the Izmir Ege University Faculty of Medicine Hospital and Izmir Training and Research Hospital. The sample of the study consisted of a total of 60 patients, including 30 application groups and 30 control groups, who met the inclusion criteria using the computer-based stratified randomization method. The study data were collected using "Patient Information Questionnaire," "WHO-Oral Mucositis Toxicity Scale," "Oral Assessment Guide," "Self-Care Agency Scale," "Data Collection Form Prepared According to Orem's Self-Care Deficiency Nursing Theory," "Oral Care Chart," and "Oral Cavity Photography." The oral self-care protocol, which includes training and oral care practices, was applied to the application group for 21 days from the beginning of chemotherapy treatment. The control group was not subjected to any oral care attempts by the researcher and received standard nursing care in the clinic. The data were evaluated by descriptive statistics, the Chi-square test, the Mann-Whitney U test, the Mc Ne-mar test, the Kappa compliance test, and the t test in dependent and independent groups. Keywords: chemotherapy; hematological malignancy; oral mucositis; oral self-care protocol; Orem's theory; self-care agency; nursing