Supportive care needs of Iranian cancer survivors and relationships with social support

Abstract

Background: Assessment of supportive care needs of cancer survivors and identifying factors affecting such needs is important for implementation of any supportive care programs. So, the aims of present study were to investigate the supportive care needs of Iranian cancer survivors and relationships with social support. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive-correlational study two hundred and fifty cancer survivors participated via convenient sampling methods. The Supportive Care Needs Survey (SCNS-SF34) and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) were used for data collection. SPSS software was applied and univariate regression was used for examine relationships of supportive care needs with social support. Results: Participants demonstrated many unmet supportive care needs, especially in health system and information and psychological domains. In addition, participants reported that family members and significant others were their main source of support. Also, social support has a significant correlation with all domains of supportive care needs. Conclusions: There is an indispensable need for establishment of supportive care programs for Iranian cancer survivors. In addition, family members of family members of such survivors are an important resource to help develop such programs.