HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS' SUPPORT IN CANCEROUS PATIENTS REFFERRED TO ARDABIL IMAM KHOMEINI MEDICAL CENTER

Cancer is an uncomfortable and unbelievable experience for everyone which
causes many physical and psychological disturbances. Health care providers support can be an important
coping resource to help patients with cancer to cope with the suffering of the illness. This study has been
carried out to investigate the health care provider’s ُ◌ support to the cancerous patients who referred to
Ardabil Imam Khomeini medical center.
Material and Methods: This descriptive analytical study has done in 230 cancerous patients who were
admitted to Imam Khomeini medical center affiliated to Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Iran.
The samples were selected using a convenience sampling method. The data were collected by a
questionnaire including two sections of demographic characteristics and, Northouse Social Support
questionnaire, and then they were analyzed by different statistical methods.
Results: The mean level of health care providers ُ◌ support was 58.7 out of a range of 16 to 80. The
mean support level of physicians and nurses from a range of 8 to 40, were 29.3 and 29.4 respectively.
The relationship between health care provider’s ُ◌ support and factors such as age, sex, marital status,
education level, job, income status, history of metastasis, history of recurrence, time passed since
recurrent and metastasis and time passed since diagnosis was not significant. The relationship between
mean level of health care provider’s ُ◌ support and history of admission was reversely significant. The
mean of health care providers ُ◌ support was higher in patients who were married, employed, high school
graduated, having expenses more than income, and living with their spouse. The hematologic cancerous
patients have got more support as well. There was no significant difference between male and female
health care providers ُ◌ support.
Conclusion: The study showed moderate to high levels of health care providers ُ◌ support among Iranian
cancerous patients. Also, based on the results, single, divorced, widow, illiterate, unemployed, living
with children and lung cancer patients received low health care providers ُ◌ support. Accordingly, the
role of health care providers should be magnified in patients with low care support