Cancer Patients’ Perceptions of Family Psychological Support: A Qualitative Study

authors:

avatar Nasrin Rezaee 1 , avatar Taraneh Taghavi Larijan 1 , avatar Nahid Dehghan Nayeri 1 , avatar Marjan Mardani Hamooleh 2 , *

Iran
Andorra

how to cite: Rezaee N, Taghavi Larijan T, Dehghan Nayeri N, Mardani Hamooleh M. Cancer Patients’ Perceptions of Family Psychological Support: A Qualitative Study. Mod Care J. 2015;12(3):e9389. 

Abstract

Background and Aim: Family psychological support is a highly important concept concerning patients diagnosed with cancer. The purpose of this study was to investigate cancer patients’ perceptions of family psychological support.
Methods: This study had a qualitative approach using inductive content analysis method. Through purposive sampling, 15 patients were selected who underwent semi-structured, face-to-face interviews. After data collection, all the interviews were transcribed and analyzed via content analysis.
Results: In general, 298 codes were extracted and categorized into two main themes: seeking support from family and valuing the patient as a family member. Seeking support from family composed of two subcategories, i.e., emotional support seeking and spiritual support seeking. Also, valuing the patient as a family member had two sub-categories consisting of unconditional acceptance and respect.
Conclusion: From the point of view of the participants, emotional and spiritual support seeking as well as unconditional acceptance and respect play a significant role in the psychological support of the families for these patients.

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