Correlation between Perceived Social Support and Resilience in the Family of Patients with Cancer
Author(s): Nasrin Fekrat Salim, Fariba Borhani*, Mahsa Boozari Pour and Mehdi Khabazkhoob
Abstract
Background: The pressure of caring from patients with cancer can be a form of stress and influence caregivers’ daily life and health. Considering the problems caused by the burden of cancer for patients and their families, this study was aimed to investigate the correlation between perceived social support and resilience in the family of patients with cancer.
Materials and Methods: This descriptive-correlation study was conducted on 114 family caregivers of patients with cancer. Data collection tools were Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) and demographic questionnaire. The data were analysed through SPSS software (version 21) considering a significant level of 0.05.
Results: The mean resilience score was 90.56 ± 9.64 and the mean social support score was 73.07 ± 11.87. The highest social support score was from the family social support sub-scale (26.46 ± 2.91). There was a positive correlation between resilience score and social support score of caregivers (p=0.001, r=0.32). Sub-scale of family social support showed the highest correlation with resilience (p=0.00, r=0.50).
Conclusions: The results indicated that increased social support improves the resilience of caregivers of patients with cancer. Families of patients and caregivers should be trained to provide timely support. According to these results, it is recommended that health care providers, and especially nurses, use strategies to promote perceived social support and resilience in order to improve the health of patients and their caregivers.