International Journal of Health Sciences

Physical and Psychological Health: The Nature and Extent of Social Support of the Cancer Patients in Institutional Settings
Rajeev.M.M, Manu Mohan

Abstract
Cancer is the second most common cause of death in the developed world and a similar trend has emerged in the developing countries too (Goyal PK (2012). The study analyzes the understanding of the extent of social support among cancer patients in institutional settings. The study was conducted among the cancer patients in six palliative care clinics in Wayanad district, Kerala. It tries to pursue the two important research questions. (1) To identify the social support persons or groups who extend social support to the cancer patients. (2) Identify the various types of cancer occurring among the cancer patients in institutional settings. A descriptive research design was followed for conducting the study. The population which is included in this study was about 46 respondents who were under treatment in the six palliative care clinics in the district. The investigator conducted intuitional visits for data collection; informal consent was obtained from each respondent, followed by the distribution of socio economic data sheet and the Social Support Appraisal Questionnaire (Alan Vaux, 1987). Following the data collection, a data analysis was carried out. The findings of the study clearly revealed that most of the patients came out from the nuclear family and belonged to poor socio- economic status. The study pointed out the significance of psycho education among the family members and the society. This attempt will be helpful to the patient to ensure various kinds of social support towards the recovery from the disease.

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