Effect of a Nurse-Navigated Game-Based Program on Transition Readiness and Psychosocial Outcomes in Adolescents With Osteosarcoma: A Cluster-Nonrandomized Controlled Study.
In a cluster-nonrandomized controlled study of 59 adolescents with osteosarcoma, a nurse-navigated game-based program added to usual care improved questionnaire-measured transition readiness, patient activation, and cancer worry through 12 weeks, but did not significantly improve transition expectation.
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In a cluster-nonrandomized controlled study of 59 adolescents with osteosarcoma, a nurse-navigated game-based program added to usual care improved questionnaire-measured transition readiness, patient activation, and cancer worry through 12 weeks, but did not significantly improve transition expectation.
Research significance
The reported findings support the possibility that a nurse-navigated, game-based intervention can improve short-term transition-related and psychosocial outcomes; it may do so by strengthening engagement and self-management, but this mechanism is inferential and was not directly tested in the supplied record.
Source abstract
BACKGROUND: Adolescents with osteosarcoma face clinical and psychosocial challenges during the transition from adolescence to adulthood. AIMS: This study examined the effects of a nurse-navigated game-based intervention (N2-GBI) on transition readiness in adolescents. METHODS: Participants in the control group received usual care, whereas the intervention group received the N2-GBI programme alongside usual care. Transition readiness was assessed using the Self-Management and Transition to Adulthood with Rx = Treatment Questionnaire as the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes included cancer worry, transition expectation and patient activation, which were measured using the Cancer Worry Scale, Transition Expectation Scale, and Patient Activation Measure, respectively. Outcomes were assessed at baseline (T0), immediately after intervention (T1) and at 12-week follow-up (T2). Generalized estimating equations were used to estimate the intervention effects. RESULTS: A total of 59 adolescents were enrolled. The intervention and control groups comprised 32 and 27 adolescents, respectively, with mean ages of 15 and 13 years, respectively. A total of 19 and 15 participants were male in the intervention and control groups, respectively. Compared with the control group, the N2-GBI group showed significantly greater improvement in transition readiness at T1 (β = 8.83, p < 0.001) and T2 (β = 7.97, p = 0.001). The N2-GBI programme also significantly reduced cancer worry (p = 0.009) and increased patient activation (p = 0.001), but had no significant effect on transition expectation (p = 0.056). CONCLUSIONS: The N2-GBI programme improved transition readiness, reduced cancer worry, and increased patient activation among adolescents with osteosarcoma, but did not significantly improve transition expectation. This intervention may be a useful nurse-led approach to transition preparation in pediatric oncology care. Future studies with larger sample sizes and prolonged follow-up durations are needed.