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. 2024 Nov 4;29(11):e1621-e1625.
doi: 10.1093/oncolo/oyae196.

Social supports in patients with cancer attending an Irish cancer center: a cross-sectional study

Caitriona Goggin  1 , Yasser Ged  1 , Dara Bracken-Clarke  1 , Michelle Hannan  1 , Flordeliza Calacsan  1 , Emmet Jordan  1 , Paula M Calvert  1 , Miriam O'Connor  1 , Anne M Horgan  1
Affiliations

Social supports in patients with cancer attending an Irish cancer center: a cross-sectional study

Caitriona Goggin et al. Oncologist. .

Abstract

A positive association has been demonstrated between social supports, quality of life, and survival outcomes in cancer. This study assessed levels of social supports among patients with cancer in an Irish institution, with an age- and gender-specific stratification. The study highlights relatively low levels of perceived socio-emotional support and social connectedness, but good levels of tangible and informational support in our cohort of patients with cancer. Cancer clinicians should consider social supports as a factor when deciding upon cancer therapies and surveillance programs, and link in available support services for individuals with low levels of social supports where feasible.

Keywords: cancer; isolation; social engagement; social support.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors of this study have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
The 3 major categories of social supports: socio-emotional, tangible/instrumental, and informational supports; with study measures used to assess these categories.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
(A) Demographics of the study participants. (B) Social network indices of study participants measured by the Berkman-Syme Social Network Index. P value (for low and high social networks). *Low social network, †high social network.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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