Objective: Anxiety in cancer patients can affect recovery time, medication adherence, and patient quality of life. Some studies show that dhikr therapy can improve relaxation and can reduce anxiety, but research on dhikr therapy in cancer patients is still not widely done. This study aims to determine the effect of dhikr therapy on reducing anxiety in cancer patients. Methods: This study used a quantitative method with a quasi-experimental-nonequivalent control group design. The study was conducted in April–May 2018, with respondents 20 people in the intervention group and 20 people in the control group. Dhikr therapy is given once a day in the intervention group with a minimum time of 10 min. Anxiety was measured using the Visual Analog Scale for Anxiety. The effect of dhikr therapy was measured using the Mann–Whitney and effect size (ES). Results: There were a statistically significant differences in the anxiety level of patients in the intervention group and the control group, with a value of P = 0.001 ( P < 0.05) and ES = 0.87 (ES > 0.5) indicating the influence of dhikr therapy in reducing patient anxiety. Conclusions: Dhikr therapy has a great effect on reducing anxiety in cancer patients.

Background: Cancer patients are 3.5 times more susceptible to COVID-19 than patients without cancer. The increasing number of COVID-19 patients is likely to impact cancer patients’ quality of life (QoL) significantly. This study aims to analyze the QoL of cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: The method used is quantitative with a cross-sectional research design. In this study, 60 respondents were selected using the Consecutive Sampling Technique. The patient’s QoL was measured once by utilizing The World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief Version (WHOQOL BREF) instrument. The QoL of cancer patients was shown in mean and standard deviation, and the correlation between respondent characteristics and QoL was analyzed with Spearman.Results: The results showed that the average QoL of the respondents in the physical health was 30.36 ± 7.72, the intermediate psychological was 25.88 ± 9.14, the average social relationship was 59.90 ± 13.04, and the mean environment was 56.7 ± 10.93.Conclusions: Respondents’ low QoL during the COVID-19 pandemic for all domains. This study implies the importance of paying attention to every domain of the QoL of cancer patients, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pasien kanker mengalami gejala penyakit dan efek samping pengobatan yang dapat menurunkan kualitas hidup. Selain itu tekanan psikologis yang lebih besar dapat berdampak pada kepatuhan pengobatan, pengendalian gejala, lama rawat inap, dan lama bertahan hidup. Pasien kanker membutuhkan dukungan sosial, yang menurut penelitian dapat membantu meningkatkan kualitas hidup pasien kanker. Pengabdian kepada masyarakat ini dilakukan dengan tujuan untuk untuk mengoptimalkan pemberdayaan caregiver sebagai upaya peningkatan kualitas hidup pasien kanker melalui pemberian edukasi. Pengabdian kepada masyarakat ini dilakukan pada bulan April 2022 di Rumah Sakit Umum Daerah dr. Moewardi. Jumlah peserta yang terlibat dalam kegiatan ini adalah 10 orang keluarga pasien kanker. Pelaksanaan kegiatan ini terdiri atas penjelasan tujuan, pretest, pemberian edukasi, dan post-test. Pemberian edukasi dilakukan secara perorangan dengan tujuan agar peserta dapat menerima edukasi dengan baik dan dapat mengkonsultasikan masalah yang dihadapi selama merawat pasien. Hasil evaluasi menunjukkan adanya peningkatan pengetahuan keluarga pasien setelah pemberian edukasi. Selama proses kegiatan, keluarga dapat menerima edukasi dengan baik dan tidak ditemukan hambatan yang mengganggu proses kegiatan.

BACKGROUND: Hypertension is an asymptomatic condition. There is abnormally high pressure in the arteries which increases the risk of stroke, aneurysm, heart attack, myocardial infarction, and kidney damage. Management of hypertension can use pharmacological and non-pharmacological techniques. One of the non-pharmacological therapies is using boiled water from Pandan Wangi leaves. AIM: The study aimed to compare between the effects of Pandan Wangi boiled water with medication therapy on the blood pressure changes in hypertension patients in the working area of Public Health Center, Karanganyar. METHODS: This study used a quasi-experimental research design with a pre-test and post-test with a non-equivalent group control design. The sampling technique adopted a purposive sampling technique consisted of 120 respondents. Data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon test and the Mann–Whitney test. RESULTS: The Wilcoxon test results in the treatment and control groups showed the same results. Systolic blood pressure obtained p = 0.004 (p < 0.05) and diastolic blood pressure obtained p = 0.002 (p < 0.05). Both the treatment group and the control group affect the blood pressure changes in hypertension patients. The Mann–Whitney test results obtained systolic blood pressure with p = 0.148 (p > 0.05) and diastolic with p = 1.000 (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: The results emphasized Pandan Wangi boiled water can reduce the blood pressure, and there is no difference in the effectiveness of Pandan Wangi boiled water and medication therapy on the blood pressure of hypertension patients in the working area of Public Health Center, Karanganyar.