The Informational, Psychological and Social Needs of Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy, Visiting Imam Reza Teaching Hospital, Tabriz, in 2016

Abstract

Understanding physical, psychological and social needs is the basis for disease management. The purpose of this study was to investigate the informational, psychological, and social needs of patients undergoing chemotherapy. The present study is a descriptive-correlational one conducted on 400 patients undergoing chemotherapy visiting a teaching hospital in Northwest Iran. The data collection instrument consisted of three sections, including the demographic information of patients, a researcher-made questionnaire to determine the informational needs of patients, and a Psychosocial Needs Index (PNI) provided to patients while receiving chemotherapy. Data were analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics in SPSS 21 version. The results showed that the mean score of patients' informational needs was high and the mean score of their psychosocial needs was moderate. Regarding the informational dimension, the highest level of need was reported for the item "I need to be aware of things to help me recover from my disease"; in the psychosocial dimension, the highest level of need belonged to the psychological dimension with the item "I need help to reduce my family's concerns about my illness"; in the physical and daily activity dimension, the highest level of need was related to item "I need help to reduce fatigue and gain energy"; in the care and support dimension, the highest level of need belonged to the item "I need the timely attendance of medical staff in case of physical needs and complications"; and finally, in the sexual dimension, the highest level of need was reported for the item " I need help to control changes in my sexual desire". The findings showed that patients with cancer have extensive needs after the diagnosis of the disease and during chemotherapy, and understanding these needs is important in planning care for these patients.