The impact of combined narrative and evidence-based nursing on cancer patients with a peripherally inserted central catheter: A retrospective study

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the impact of narrative nursing combined with evidence-based nursing on the emotional well-being, self-health behavior, quality of life (QOL) and complications in cancer patients with peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC).

Methodology: This retrospective study included 119 cancer patients with PICC, treated at the First People’s Hospital of Linping District, Hangzhou, from February 2022 to September 2024. According to the different nursing plans, patients were divided into a narrative (n=62, narrative nursing combined with evidence-based nursing) and a conventional group (n=57, routine nursing). The extent of negative emotions, self-health behaviors, quality of life (QOL) and incidence of complications was assessed in both groups before and after the intervention.

Results: After the intervention, the Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) and Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) scores were reduced in both groups, with more pronounced improvements observed in the narrative group (P<0.05), suggesting a potential association with the combined intervention. Postintervention scores for self-concept, health knowledge, self-responsibility, self-care skills, and SF-36 showed improvement in both groups, with higher scores observed in the narrative group (P<0.05), indicating possible benefits linked to the combined approach. The narrative group also had a lower incidence of complications (11.2%) compared to the conventional group (26.4%) (P<0.05), which may suggest an association with the nursing model.

Conclusions: The combination of narrative and evidence-based nursing can more effectively alleviate the negative emotions of cancer patients with PICC, enhance their self-health behaviors, improve QOL and reduce complications.