Study on How Spouses of Cancer Patients Experience Social Support

Abstract

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to clarify how spouses of cancer patients experience social support, including positive and negative aspects, so as to identify how nurses can better promote their mental health. Data collected from 13 spouses of cancer patients through semi-structured interviews were analyzed by a quantitative inductive approach.

As a result, the following seven categories were extracted：‘awareness of the necessity of support’, ‘hesitation in receiving support’, ‘careful evaluation of support providers’, ‘deciding whether to accept support’, ‘understanding the usefulness of received support’, ‘emotions aroused by receiving support’, and ‘tailoring support based on the relationship with support providers’.

The results showed that some spouses are hesitant to accept support, some do not receive support, and some receive non-beneficial support. Through discussions, suggestions for nursing practice were extracted, including：（1）to suggest and provide appropriate support by understanding their hesitation in mentioning their needs, and to ask their resources to provide support on their behalf（2）to help increase the ability of family members to support each other and adjust their relationship,（3）to find potential support providers and explain what social resources are available for spouses not receiving enough support,（4）to understand that providing appropriate care to patients is actually useful for spouses, and（5）to mediate between spouses and non-beneficial support, as well as to increase spouses’ responsiveness when dealing with non-beneficial support.