A person-centered intervention targeting the psychosocial needs of gynecological cancer survivors: a randomized clinical trial

We investigated the effect of a person-centered intervention consisting of two to four nurse-led conversations using guided self-determination tailored to gynecologic cancer (gsd-gyn-c) on gynecological cancer survivors’ quality of life (qol), impact of cancer, distress, anxiety, depression, self-esteem, and self-reported ability to monitor and respond to symptoms of recurrence. we randomly assigned 165 gynecological cancer survivors to usual care (uc) plus gsd-gyn-c or uc alone. self-reported qol-cancer survivor (qol-cs) total score and subscale scores on physical, psychological, social, and spiritual well-being were assessed before randomization and at 3 and 9 months after randomization using t tests. bonferroni and pipper corrections were applied for multiple testing adjustments. at 9 months, the gsd-gyn-c plus uc group scored significantly higher on the qol-cs total scale (p = 0.02) and on the qol-cs physical well-being subscale (p = 0.01), compared to women receiving uc alone. after adjusting for baseline scores, only the difference in the physical well-being subscale was statistically significant. no other measured outcomes differed between the intervention and control groups after baseline adjustment. we observed higher physical well-being 9 months after randomization in the gsd-gyn-c group, as compared to women receiving usual care. the results suggest that the person-centered intervention gsd-gyn-c improve physical well-being in gynecological cancer survivors. however, further testing is needed.