Impact of LEARNS Model-Based Health Education on Swallowing Safety and Psychological Well-Being in Postoperative Esophageal Cancer Patients

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the effects of health education grounded in the LEARNS model on the swallowing safety and psychological well-being of patients following radical esophageal cancer surgery. Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted. A convenience sampling method was employed to select 60 patients who underwent radical esophageal cancer surgery between July and December 2023 from a Grade III-A general hospital in Wuhan. Participants were randomly assigned to either a control group (n=30), which received standard health education, or an intervention group (n=30), which received LEARNS model-based health education. Primary outcomes included swallowing function and oral feeding ability; secondary outcomes comprised psychological status and satisfaction with health education. Outcomes were assessed one month post-discharge, and satisfaction was evaluated on the day of discharge. Results: Following the intervention, the intervention group demonstrated statistically significant improvements in swallowing function (SSA score: 21.86± 4.13 vs 23.34± 2.42, P< 0.05), oral intake ability (FOIS score: 7.25± 1.07 vs 6.92± 1.44, P< 0.05), psychological distress (DT score: 5.45± 1.94 vs 6.38± 1.30, P< 0.05), and satisfaction with health education (total score: 21.90± 1.86 vs 17.40± 3.38, P< 0.05) compared to the control group. Conclusion: The LEARNS-based health education approach may improve swallowing function, oral feeding ability, psychological status, and education satisfaction in postoperative esophageal cancer patients during short-term follow-up. These findings should be interpreted with caution due to the single-center design and limited sample size. Keywords: LEARNS model, health education, esophageal cancer, swallowing function, safe feeding, swallowing training