Liao, M.N., Chen, P.L., Chen, M.F., & Chen, S.C. (2010). Effect of supportive care on the anxiety of women with suspected breast cancer. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 66, 49–59.

To test the hypothesis that women with suspected breast cancer who received a supportive care intervention during the diagnostic phase of care would have lower anxiety than those having usual care

The intervention was supportive care, emotional support, and educational information provided by nurses through three individual meetings and two telephone calls.

• The study reported on a sample of 114 participants.
• Mean participant age was 48.1 years.
• The sample was 100% female.
• All participants had a breast lump found through clinical examination or imaging that needed biopsy.
• Most women had no history, experience, or family history of breast disease.
• Most women had an education level of high school completion or beyond, were married or lived with partners, and had family or friends with whom to talk.

• Single site
• Outpatient setting
• Taiwan

Patients were undergoing the diagnostic phase of care.

A randomized controlled trial design was used.

State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)

Women in the intervention group had significantly lower state anxiety before biopsy and after learning the result compared to the control group (p = 0.008; p = 0.001).

Women with suspected breast cancer who received the supportive care program had lower anxiety than those receiving routine care.

• The study had no attentional control.
• Subjects in the experimental group received more time and attention than those in the control group, so the impact of the actual supportive program design versus the impact of just increased attention cannot be determined.
• Participants were not blinded to group assignment, which could have biased self-report results on the STAI.

Though resulting differences between groups were statistically significant, differences in scores between groups ranged from 1.14 to 2.12 on average, in a possible 80-point scale. The clinical relevance of this small difference is questionable, and the level of anxiety indicated by scores was still severe.