Objectives/Purpose:
To evaluate the impact of a minimal-resource education intervention on the success rate of Deep Inspiration Breath Hold (DIBH) in breast cancer patients receiving radiation therapy.
Sample and Setting:
This study was conducted at a regional cancer hospital in NSW, Australia. The sample includes approximately 240 breast cancer patients referred for radiotherapy with a planned DIBH protocol.
Procedures:
A retrospective pre-post study design was employed with patients grouped into two cohorts: those treated in the six months before (n ≈ 120) and after (n ≈ 120) the implementation of the education intervention. The intervention consisted of a digital patient education flyer distributed via the hospital’s appointment booking procedure and standardised verbal instructions. Data were extracted from the medical record by an experienced Radiation Therapist on a pre-piloted template and included DIBH completion status (primary outcome), patient demographics (age, smoking status, BMI, comorbidities), and disease and treatment characteristics (cancer stage and laterality, radiotherapy dose/fractions). DIBH success rate was calculated as the percentage of patients with a planned DIBH protocol who completed radiotherapy using the DIBH technique. Data collection has finished and results are currently being analysed.
Results:
Logistic regression analysis will be undertaken to evaluate differences in DIBH success rate between the pre- and post-cohorts, adjusted for covariates and potential confounders.
Conclusion and Clinical Implications:
If effective, this minimal-resource, scalable intervention could represent a simple strategy to improve DIBH success rates, reducing cardiac risk for women undergoing left-sided breast cancer radiotherapy and reducing treatment delays due to re-planning. The findings will inform broader implementation strategies within radiation oncology departments aiming to optimize treatment delivery through enhanced patient education.