Social support of Chinese patients with ovarian malignancies during chemotherapy: A cohort questionnaire survey

Objectives To describe the social support of patients with ovarian malignancies during chemotherapy and to explore changes over time and factors associated with social support. Methods Longitudinal Cohort study of 75 patients undergoing chemotherapy for ovarian malignancies using the Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS). Results At the first and third time point, all the subjects had average or good overall social support and 97% of subjects attained average or good overall social support at the second point. There was no significant difference of the total social support and the two subscales among three time points, whereas there was significant difference between intra-family and extra-family support at each time point. Stepwise multiple regression showed that only average economic status was related with intra-family support and extra-family support at the first time point. Conclusion These findings give insights into the social support of Chinese women with ovarian cancer during chemotherapy. The importance of social support from the family perceived by Chinese cancer women has implications for nursing care. Nurses should acknowledge family members as a major social support resource the Chinese women can refer to and inspire positive and effective support from their family, including them in the entire caring process if possible.