This study aims to examine the effects of nursing interventions based on the Extended Theory of Planned Behavior (ETPB) regarding self-efficacy for exercise (SEE), physical activity (PA), physical function (PF), and quality of life (QOL) in patients with lung cancer who have undergone pulmonary resection.

This quasi-experimental study was conducted between July 2015 and June 2018 in two university-affiliated hospitals. The intervention included pre-operative patient education, goal setting (action and coping planning), and feedback (behavior intention and perceived behavioral control). The intervention group (IG) (n=51) received nursing interventions from the day before surgery to 12 months after lung resection, while the comparison group (CG) (n=36) received usual care. SEE, PA, PF (dyspnea, functional status, and 6-minute walking distance [6MWD]), and QOL were measured before surgery and at one, three, six, and 12 months after surgery. Data were analyzed using the χ² test, Fisher’s exact test, Mann-Whitney U test, t-test, and generalized estimation equations (GEE).

There were significant differences between the two groups regarding SEE (χ²=13.53, p=.009), PA (χ²=9.51, p=.049), functional status (χ²=10.55, p=.032), and 6MWD (χ²=15.62, p=.004). Although there were no time or group effects, the QOL mental component (Z=-2.78, p=.005) of the IG was higher than that of the CG one month after surgery. Interventions did not affect dyspnea or the QOL physical component.

The intervention of this study was effective in improving SEE, PA, functional status, and 6MWD of lung cancer patients after lung resection. Further extended investigations that utilize ETPB are warranted to confirm these results.

The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of a Progressive Walking program (PW) on physical activity, exercise tolerance, recovery, and post-operative complications for patients with a lung resection.

A nonequivalent control group non-synchronized design was utilized and 37 participants with a lung resection (22 for control group, 15 for experimental group) were recruited at A university hospital from December 2012 to August 2013. The PW consisted of preoperative education, goal setting, and feedback, provided to the experimental group, and usual care to the control group. Data were analyzed using the SPSS WIN 18.0.

A higher proportion of patients in the experimental group showed adequate levels of physical activity (p= .001), shorter period of chest tube retention (≤ 7 days; p= .011), and shorter stay in the hospital (≤ 10 days; p= .036) than patients in the control group. Patients in the experimental group reported longer 6-minute walking distance (p= .032) and lower levels of dyspnea (p= .049) than patients in the control group. The PW did not influence the occurrence of pulmonary complications.

The findings of this study suggest that the PW could be a useful strategy for improving patients’ post-operative health and reducing cost after lung resection.