Systematic development of CHEMO-SUPPORT, a nursing intervention to support adult patients with cancer in dealing with chemotherapy-related symptoms at home

BACKGROUND: Given the great symptom burden associated with chemotherapy on the one hand and generally poor self-management of symptoms by cancer patients on the other hand, our aim was to develop a nursing intervention to reduce symptom burden in adult cancer patients treated with chemotherapy and to support them in dealing with their various symptoms at home. METHODS: Development of the intervention was guided by the Intervention Mapping Approach and included following steps: needs assessment, formulation of proximal programme objectives, selection of methods and strategies, production of programme components, and planning for implementation and evaluation of the intervention. A panel of multidisciplinary healthcare professionals (n = 12) and a panel of patients and family caregivers (n = 7) were actively involved developing the intervention at each stage. RESULTS: For the intervention, four patient performance objectives relating to self-management were advanced. Self-efficacy and outcome expectations were selected as key determinants of dealing with chemotherapy-related symptoms. As methods for supporting patients, motivational interviewing and tailoring were found to fit best with the change objectives and determinants. Existing patient information materials were re-designed after panel input to reinforce the new intervention approach. CONCLUSION: The intervention mapping approach, including active involvement of the intervention providers and receivers, informed the design of this nursing intervention with two or more contacts. Further evaluation is needed to gain insight into the potential effects, feasibility and mechanisms of this complex intervention. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12912-018-0297-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.