Effects of the club mode of health education on social support of breast cancer patients and their spouses

Abstract

Objective To investigate the effects of club mode of health education on social support of breast cancer patients and their spouses. Methods A total of 100 breast cancer patients who underwent modified radical mastectomy and their spouses in Suzhou Municipal Hospital from May 2012 to March 2013 were randomly divided into the intervention group and the control group with 50 cases respectively. Patients and spouses in the intervention group were involved in the club, while in the control group patients and spouses received routine nursing care. Perceived social support scale (PSSS) and social support ratings scale (SSRS) were used in the questionnaires for patients before the intervention and at the 1st month, 3rd month, 6th month after the intervention. Results In the intervention group, the score of the support on the patients out of family was (29.80±5.77) at the 1st month after the intervention; the total score of perceived social support was (57.22±5.26) at the 3rd month after the intervention; the score of support from family was (26.59±2.51) at the 6th month after the intervention. All of those scores were significant higher than those in the control group (F=6.391, 0.304, 7.435; P<0.05) . At the 3rd month after the intervention, the score of the social support on the spouses were (45.02±6.40) in the intervention group and (39.17±7.77) in the control group. The difference between the two groups was statistically significant (F=1.250, P<0.05) . Conclusions The club mode of health education can effectively improve the social support status for breast cancer patients and their spouses. Key words: Breast neoplasms; Social support; Spouses; Health education; Club