Feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a systematic transaction model-guided dyadic coping nursing intervention for patients with breast cancer and their spousal caregivers: A pilot study

Objective: This study aimed to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of a Systematic Transaction Model (STM)-guided dyadic coping nursing intervention for patients with breast cancer and their spouses.

Methods: A single-arm, pre-test/post-test pilot study was conducted at a tertiary hospital in Wuxi, China, recruiting 28 breast cancer patient-caregiver pairs. Each dyad participated in six hybrid intervention sessions. Paired t-tests were used to evaluate pre- and post-intervention changes, and effect sizes were calculated. Feasibility was assessed by recruitment and retention rates, acceptability via the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire-8 (CSQ-8), and preliminary efficacy through measures of body image, dyadic coping, post-traumatic growth, and marital satisfaction.

Results: All 28 dyads completed the intervention. Patients showed small-to-moderate improvements in body image, post-traumatic growth, dyadic coping, and marital satisfaction (d ​= ​0.4-0.5, P ​≤ ​0.022), with clinically meaningful changes observed in 39%-68% of patients. Spousal caregivers also demonstrated improvements in post-traumatic growth, dyadic coping, and marital satisfaction (d ​= ​0.3-0.6, P ​≤ ​0.033), with 36%-46% showing clinically important differences.

Conclusions: This pilot study supports the feasibility and initial efficacy of an STM-guided dyadic coping intervention, which may benefit breast cancer patients and their spouses as a unit. Further large-scale trials are recommended to validate these findings.

Trial registration: China Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR2400083416).