Effect of three-stage fusion nursing intervention the rehabilitation process and psychological stress in patients after gastric cancer surgery

BACKGROUND Patients with gastric cancer often experience slow postoperative recovery and psychological stress, necessitating enhanced nursing care to improve their prognosis. AIM To analyze the impact of a timing-theory-guided three-stage integrated nursing intervention (TSIN) on the postoperative recovery of patients undergoing gastric cancer surgery. METHODS Total 84 patients that underwent gastric cancer surgeries between June 2022 and June 2024 were selected and divided into a control group and an observation group based on perioperative nursing methods. The control group (n = 42) received routine nursing care, whereas the observation group (n = 42) received a timing-theory-guided TSIN. The psychological adjustment capabilities, psychological stress, cancer-related fatigue levels, postoperative recovery, and quality of life of the two groups were compared. RESULTS Compared to the control group, the observation group took lesser time to get out of bed, achieve gastrointestinal motility, have the first mealtime, along with a shorter hospital stay (P < 0.05). Before nursing, there were no significant differences between groups’ parameters or scores (P > 0.05). After nursing, the scores for psychological stress and cancer-related fatigue decreased. In contrast, the scores for psychological adjustment capabilities and quality of life increased, with more significant improvements observed in the observation group, showing significant differences within and between the groups (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION Timing theory-guided TSIN can improve the psychological adjustment capabilities of patients undergoing gastric cancer surgery, reduce psychological stress and cancer-related fatigue, accelerate postoperative recovery, and improve the quality of life.