Social support needs and adjustment of cancer patients

Abstract

Background: Given the limited health care funds and increasing survival from cancer, services should be targeted to meet patients' post-treatment need. Objectives: To identify which of the needs that patients consider important; examine how they compare the role of the family, nurses and friends in meeting these needs; and assess the relationship between social support and adjustment to cancer. Setting: Radiotherapy clinic, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria. Design: Cross-sectional study. Measurements: A 29-item needs questionnaire for assessing patients' expressed and perceived informational, physical (relief of pain), emotional and instrumental (economic) needs/ support from family, friends and nurses; and indices of social adjustment (self-esteem, coping, acceptance). Subjects: Seventy two (20 males and 52 females) consecutive attendees mean age, 41.1, SD 12.7. Results: The highest needs expressed were physical (95.8%) and informational (81.7%), while emotional support was the most perceived as provided. Nurses and families were similarly perceived as significant providers of total social support, with nurses being identified as best providers of physical and instrumental support. Over 75% felt socially adjusted. Informational support was the most important predictor of social adjustment, while total social support predicted self-esteem. Conclusion: The findings support previous work indicating that clinicians should drop their reticence and provide adequate information to cancer patients and their relatives. Staff social support is appreciated by patients and is predictive of social adjustment. Policy makers should consider social welfare measures to relieve the burden of cancer on families.