The effect of educational program-based on sexual intimacy concept via smartphone in women following mastectomy: A randomized controlled trial

Abstract

The most common malignancy among women around the world is breast cancer. Mastectomy is one of the most commonly used breast cancer treatments, which has a direct impact on the sexual performance of these patients. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of Educational program through Smartphone on the sexual intimacy of women with breast cancer. In a randomized controlled trial, 60 women with mastectomy referred to Imam Khomeini Hospital from April to July 2018 and were randomly divided into two intervention (sexual intimacy with routine mastectomy and chemotherapy care education) and control groups (routine mastectomy and chemotherapy care education) using four randomized blocks. Six sessions via smartphone were held for both groups the sexual intimacy questionnaire was completed by participants before and after the intervention. The data were analyzed by SPSS 21 at a significance level of p<0. 05. According to the findings, the mean score of overall sexual intimacy before intervention was not significantly different (p=0.143) between the two groups. However, after the intervention, the mean score of total sexual intimacy was significantly different in the control and intervention groups being higher in the intervention group (p<0.001). The present study showed that education via smartphone was effective in improving the sexual intimacy of women with breast cancer and consequently enhancing the couples' sexual relations.