Social Support and Life Satisfaction in Women With Cervical Cancer: A Serial Multiple Mediation Model

The determinants of help-seeking behaviors among cancer patients in online health communities: Evidence from China

OBJECTIVE

Although online health communities offer a new approach to patient interaction, the help-seeking behaviors of cancer patients within these platforms remain unexplored. This study aims to identify the determinants influencing online help-seeking behaviors among cancer patients.

METHOD

Based on motivation theory, we proposed six hypotheses and developed a research model. Data were collected from 1100 cancer patients who sought help in a leading Chinese online cancer community in March, June, and September 2023. We used the fixed-effect negative binomial model to test research hypotheses.

RESULTS

The findings indicated that the time since diagnosis (β = -0.127, P < 0.001) was negatively associated with online help-seeking behaviors among cancer patients. In contrast, social support (β = 0.002, P = 0.003) and disease stigma (β = 0.170, P < 0.001) positively influenced their help-seeking behaviors in online health communities. Furthermore, while male and female cancer patients showed decreased help-seeking behaviors as time since diagnosis increased, the decline was less pronounced for females (β = 0.040, P < 0.001). The positive impact of disease stigma on help-seeking behaviors is stronger for female patients than male patients (β = 0.098, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

This research broadens the understanding of how cancer patients seek help in digital environments and enhances theoretical insights into these behaviors.

Coping strategies utilized by patients with cervical cancer: an explorative qualitative study at the Ocean Road Cancer Institute in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

BACKGROUND

Cervical cancer ranks as the fourth most prevalent cancer among women globally, particularly affecting socioeconomically disadvantaged populations such as those in Tanzania. Receiving a cervical cancer diagnosis induces considerable stress and elicits negative reactions. Coping mechanisms, ranging from adaptive to maladaptive, are employed to navigate this challenging condition and are influenced by factors such as race, socioeconomic status, and sociocultural background. Despite its significance, little is known about the coping strategies utilized by cervical cancer patients in Tanzania.

METHODS

By employing purposeful sampling, a qualitative descriptive study was conducted at the Ocean Road Cancer Institute in Dar es Salaam from December 2022 to January 2023, aiming to explore coping strategies adopted by cervical cancer patients. Thematic analysis was employed to analyse the gathered data.

FINDINGS

The key themes that emerged included problem-focused coping, emotion-focused coping, social support, religious coping, and escapism.

CONCLUSIONS

Cervical cancer patients employ a diverse array of coping strategies to manage their condition. While many strategies observed were adaptive, some proved to be maladaptive, underscoring the importance of ongoing assessments to bolster adaptive coping mechanisms among this population.

Satisfaction with Social Support and Quality of Life Among Portuguese Patients with Breast Cancer: Mediating Effects of Coping Styles-Cross-Sectional Study

Background/Objectives: The purpose of this study was to analyze the mediating effects of coping styles on the relationship between satisfaction with social support (SSS) and quality of life (QoL) in breast cancer patients. Methods: A cross-sectional structural equation modeling (SEM) approach was used to examine the mediating effects. The participants were 311 women who were breast cancer patients, aged between 27 and 86 years (M = 46.61, SD = 9.53). Results: SEM analyses showed that SSS was positively associated with fighting spirit (β = 0.31, p < 0.05), cognitive avoidance (β = 0.19, p > 0.05), and QoL (β = 0.21, p < 0.05), and negatively associated with helplessness-hopelessness (β = -0.28, p < 0.05). Furthermore, fighting spirit and helplessness-hopelessness showed significant relationships with QoL. Anxious preoccupation was negatively related to QoL. Furthermore, fighting spirit and helplessness-hopelessness showed significant relationships with quality of life (β = 0.18, p < 0.05; β = -0.15, p < 0.05, respectively). In addition, the mediation analysis revealed that coping styles (i.e., fighting spirit and helplessness-hopelessness) mediated the relationship between SSS and QoL. Conclusions: The findings suggest that perceptions of SSS from family and friends may promote perceived QoL via adaptive coping, such as fighting spirit and helplessness-hopelessness strategies to deal with the cancer experience.

Relationship between social support and self-care ability among patients with breast cancer during rehabilitation: The multiple mediating roles of resilience and depression

AIMS

To identify the multiple mediating effects of resilience and depression between social support and self-care ability among patients with breast cancer during rehabilitation to provide reference for developing and implementing targeted interventions.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional study reported according to the STROBE checklist.

METHODS

A convenience sample of 320 patients with breast cancer during rehabilitation was recruited from one hospital in China. Data were collected from April to August 2022 using a self-report questionnaire, including the demographic and clinical information, Appraisal of Self-Care Agency Scale-Revised, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale-10 item, and Patient Health Questionnaire-9. The mediation analysis was conducted using the SPSS Process macro.

RESULTS

Self-care ability was positively associated with social support (β = .229) and resilience (β = .290), and negatively associated with depression (β = -.208). The relationship between social support and self-care ability was mediated by resilience and depression, respectively, and together in serial. The multiple mediating effects accounted for 34.0% of the total effect of social support on self-care ability.

CONCLUSION

Our findings identify resilience and depression as multiple mediators between social support and self-care ability and highlight the important roles of social support, resilience and depression in improving self-care ability.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

Healthcare providers should pay great attention to the underlying mechanisms of how social support affects patients' self-care ability during breast cancer rehabilitation. Integrated intervention programmes targeted at enhancing social support, building resilience and alleviating depression might be beneficial to the improvement of self-care ability.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

No patient or public contribution.

REPORTING METHOD

The Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) checklist for cross-sectional studies was applied to report the results.

Does All Social Support Work? Examining the Mechanisms of Patient-Reported Symptom Interference after Esophagectomy Affecting Life Satisfaction

Purpose

We intended to explore the chain mediation role of resilience and different sources of social support on the relationship between symptom interference and life satisfaction from the patient-reported perspective.

Patients and Methods

Two hundred and twenty-six patients after esophagectomy were investigated using four validated scales to estimate the symptom interference, resilience, different sources of social support, and life satisfaction. The chain mediation analysis was conducted using SPSS PROCESS Macro Model 6.

Results

Mediation analysis showed that symptom interference indirectly influenced life satisfaction through two significant mediating pathways: (i) resilience (B = -0.138, 95% CI: -0.194 to -0.091); (ii) the chain mediators involving in resilience and family support (B = -0.049, 95% CI: -0.073 to -0.026). Surprisingly, the mediating pathway of family support was not significant.

Conclusion

Interventions for resilience and family support could mitigate the adverse effects of symptom interference in patients after esophagectomy, improving life satisfaction. Of these, resilience may be more critical in terms of the utilization of social resources than family support.

Illness uncertainty, resilience, and perceived social support among patients with moyamoya disease: a cross-sectional study

Objective

The present study aims to investigate the levels of illness uncertainty in patients with moyamoya disease and to determine the association of socio-demographic characteristics, perceived social support and resilience with illness uncertainty in patients with moyamoya disease.

Method

A cross-sectional survey using convenience sampling was conducted in two hospitals in China from August to December 2023. A socio-demographic characteristics questionnaire, the Chinese versions of Mishel’s Unsurety in Disease Scale (MUIS), the Chinese version of Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), and the Chinese version of Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) were used to perform this research. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 24.0 statistical software. The t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), pearson correlation analysis and hierarchical regression analysis were used to identify associated factors.

Result

A total of 263 patients with moyamoya disease were recruited in this survey. The score of illness uncertainty was at a moderate level of (100.03 ± 18.59). The present study identified a negative correlation between illness uncertainty with resilience perceived social support. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that gender, occupation, education level, resilience and perceived social support were the related factors of illness uncertainty.

Conclusion

Patients with moyamoya disease experienced moderate disease uncertainty on average, which was related to gender, occupation, education level, resilience and perceived social support. Future research is needed to better explore the complex relationships between illness uncertainty, resilience, and perceived social support with different types of moyamoya disease using longitudinal research.