Are the nonmedical needs of cancer patients satisfied adequately.

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e18283-e18283
Author(s):  
Monika Rucinska ◽  
Karolina Osowiecka ◽  
Radoslaw Sroda ◽  
Arian Saied ◽  
Magdalena Milobedzka ◽  
...  

e18283 Background: Cancer is a global health care problem. Cancer disease is not only medical problem, there are a lot of areas in human life that cancer has influence on. The rationale for this study was to identified non-medical needs among cancer patients during treatment and assessment of who helps patients. Methods: The study was carried out on a group of 346 patients who were being treated for malignant neoplasm in five oncological centers in Poland. A questionnaire was prepared specifically for this study and each patient was interviewed individually. The questionnaire was validated on a group of 20 patients. The study protocol was approved by the Local Ethics Committee of the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Poland. All of the participants had submitted a signed consent form. Results: There were analyzed 164 women and 180 men (2 no date), median age 65 years. 79% of patients could have hoped for psychological support, most of them received psychological support from partner/family (88%) and friends (31%), less from psychologist (28%) and priest (5%). Half of patients (52%) had a need for social support, 42% of them received social support from partner/family, 12% from friends and only 7% from a social worker. One third of patients (30%) received support from a dietician. The help from a physiotherapist were given to 20% of patients. In the analysis of different factors it was noticed that women more often than men got help from psychologist and physiotherapist (p < 0.05). Some of patients (16%) did not know that they could get help in their non-medical needs. 80% of analyzed patients thought they need someone who would help them with the non-medical problems during their cancer disease. Conclusions: Cancer patients have some non-medical needs, but only a small part of them receives professional support. The proper solution could be a special person who may notice patients problems and coordinate professional support.

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 153473542199490
Author(s):  
Iván Ruiz-Rodríguez ◽  
Isabel Hombrados-Mendieta ◽  
Anabel Melguizo-Garín ◽  
Mª José Martos-Méndez

Introduction: The aim of the present study is to carry out a multidimensional analysis of the relationship of social support with quality of life and the stress perceived by cancer patients. Methods: The participants were 200 patients with cancer. Data was gathered on sociodemographic characteristics, health, quality of life, social support and perceived stress. Results: Frequency of and satisfaction with different sources and types of support are related positively with improvement of quality of life and negatively with perceived stress. The emotional support from the partner and the emotional and informational support from the family are significant predictors of quality of life. Emotional support from the family reduces patients’ perceived stress. Satisfaction with emotional support from the partner and with the informational support from friends and family increases quality of life. Satisfaction with emotional support from the family and with informational support from friends decreases patients’ perceived stress. Instrumental support and support provided by health professionals are not good predictors of quality of life and perceived stress. Satisfaction with the support received is more significantly related with quality of life and stress than the frequency with which the sources provide support. Conclusions: These results have important practical implications to improve cancer patients’ quality of life and reduce their perceived stress through social support. Designing intervention strategies to improve satisfaction with the support provided to patients by their closest networks results in a global benefit for the patient’s quality of life.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jana Brandt ◽  
Kyra Selina Hagge

Abstract Education and having access to social support play a vital role in the human life. Integrated and better-educated people demonstrate an increased personal health and well-being. Social isolation, on the contrary, can affect not only the personal development, but also pertains to society. These topics are especially relevant in the current migration debate. Our paper examines the link between schooling and the individuals’ probability to receive different types of social support, in particular emotional, instrumental, informational, and appraisal support. Using logit and ordinal logit regressions on cross-sectional micro-data provided by the SOEP, we distinguish between two subgroups, the native population and people who migrated to Germany. Our findings confirm that higher levels of education increase the probability to access social support as well as the number of support providers in the network. Migrants are disadvantaged when it comes to the access of social support. However, our results suggest no significant negative returns to education for people with migration experiences.


Author(s):  
Johanna Sophie Lubasch ◽  
Susan Lee ◽  
Christoph Kowalski ◽  
Marina Beckmann ◽  
Holger Pfaff ◽  
...  

(1) Background: Evidence suggests that organizational processes of hospitals have an impact on patient-professional interactions. Within the nurse-patient interaction, nurses play a key role providing social support. Factors influencing the nurse-patient interaction have seldomly been researched. We aimed to examine whether the process organization in hospitals is associated with breast cancer patients’ perceived social support from nurses.; (2) Methods: Data analysis based on a cross-sectional patient survey (2979 breast cancer patients, 83 German hospitals) and information on hospital structures. Associations between process organization and perceived social support were analyzed with logistic hierarchical regression models adjusted for patient characteristics and hospital structures.; (3) Results: Most patients were 40–69 years old and classified with UICC stage II or III. Native language, age and hospital ownership status showed significant associations to the perception of social support. Patients treated in hospitals with better process organization at admission (OR 3.61; 95%-CI 1.67, 7.78) and during the hospital stay (OR 2.11; 95%-CI 1.04; 4.29) perceived significantly more social support from nurses.; (4) Conclusions: Designing a supportive nursing work environment and improving process organization in hospitals may create conditions conducive for a supportive patient-nurse interaction. More research is needed to better understand mechanisms behind the associations found.


2010 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 251-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.A. QUEENAN ◽  
D. FELDMAN-STEWART ◽  
M. BRUNDAGE ◽  
P.A. GROOME

Author(s):  
C. T. Sánchez-Díaz ◽  
S. Strayhorn ◽  
S. Tejeda ◽  
G. Vijayasiri ◽  
G. H. Rauscher ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Prior studies have observed greater levels of psychosocial stress (PSS) among non-Hispanic (nH) African American and Hispanic women when compared to nH White patients after a breast cancer diagnosis. We aimed to determine the independent and interdependent roles of socioeconomic position (SEP) and unmet support in the racial disparity in PSS among breast cancer patients. Methods Participants were recruited from the Breast Cancer Care in Chicago study (n = 989). For all recently diagnosed breast cancer patients, aged 25–79, income, education, and tract-level disadvantage and affluence were summed to create a standardized socioeconomic position (SEP) score. Three measures of PSS related to loneliness, perceived stress, and psychological consequences of a breast cancer diagnosis were defined based on previously validated scales. Five domains of unmet social support needs (emotional, spiritual, informational, financial, and practical) were defined from interviews. We conducted path models in MPlus to estimate the extent to which PSS disparities were mediated by SEP and unmet social support needs. Results Black and Hispanic patients reported greater PSS compared to white patients and greater unmet social support needs (p = 0.001 for all domains). Virtually all of the disparity in PSS could be explained by SEP. A substantial portion of the mediating influence of SEP was further transmitted by unmet financial and practical needs among Black patients and by unmet emotional needs for Hispanic patients. Conclusions SEP appeared to be a root cause of the racial/ethnic disparities in PSS within our sample. Our findings further suggest that different interventions may be necessary to alleviate the burden of SEP for nH AA (i.e., more financial support) and Hispanic patients (i.e., more emotional support).


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