The Nethersole School of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Eur J Oncol Nurs. 2013 Dec;17(6):788-96. doi: 10.1016/j.ejon.2013.03.007. Epub 2013 Apr 12.
Social support has been identified as a significant factor positively influencing quality of life (QOL) in breast cancer survivors. However, less is known about whether and how social support remains important among cancer survivors over the course of the survivorship trajectory.
To explore social support and its relationship with QOL in breast cancer survivors in China.
This was a sequential mixed methods study. In Phase I, 100 breast cancer survivors were surveyed using standardized questionnaires. A multivariate regression analysis was performed to examine the relationship between social support and QOL after controlling for annual household income and length of survivorship. In Phase II, individual in-depth interviews were conducted to understand social support experience from 29 survivors selected from Phase I. Interview data were transcribed and analyzed using qualitative content analysis.
Survivors reported a median support network size of 2.2 persons (interquartile range = 1.2-3.8) and a median support satisfaction score of 5.5 (interquartile range = 5-6). While support satisfaction was found to be associated with QOL, no association was found between support network size and QOL. Interview findings revealed that close family members and peer survivors constituted the major source of breast cancer survivors' support, especially in emotional and informational support aspects. Cultural factors played a role in the perception and utilization of support of the breast cancer survivors.
This study has indicated that support satisfaction is more critical than support network size in influencing various aspects of survivors' QOL through the underlying different types of situation-specific support.
社会支持已被确定为对乳腺癌幸存者生活质量（QOL）产生积极影响的重要因素。然而，对于社会支持在癌症幸存者的生存轨迹过程中是否以及如何仍然重要，人们知之甚少。
探讨中国乳腺癌幸存者的社会支持及其与生活质量的关系。
这是一项序贯混合方法研究。在第一阶段，使用标准化问卷对 100 名乳腺癌幸存者进行了调查。多元回归分析用于在控制年家庭收入和生存时间的情况下，检验社会支持与生活质量之间的关系。在第二阶段，从第一阶段中选择了 29 名幸存者进行了个体深入访谈，以了解社会支持体验。对访谈数据进行了转录和分析，采用定性内容分析。
幸存者报告的支持网络规模中位数为 2.2 人（四分位距= 1.2-3.8），支持满意度中位数为 5.5（四分位距= 5-6）。尽管支持满意度与生活质量相关，但支持网络规模与生活质量之间没有关联。访谈结果表明，亲密的家庭成员和同龄的幸存者是乳腺癌幸存者支持的主要来源，尤其是在情感和信息支持方面。文化因素在乳腺癌幸存者对支持的感知和利用中起作用。
本研究表明，通过潜在的不同类型的特定情境支持，支持满意度比支持网络规模更能影响幸存者生活质量的各个方面。
