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Background & Aim: Physical and psychosocial problems along with the changes in life style, put hemodialysis patients under pressure. It seems that social support decreases psychological stresses and improves quality of life. This study aimed to describe hemodialysis patients&apos perceptions on their social supports and related factors.

Methods & Materials: This descriptive-correlational study is a part of a larger study. All patients (n=202) referred to the hemodialysis units of Iran University of Medical Sciences were recruited to the study during a four-months period. Data were collected using "Personal Resources Questionnaire" (PRQ 85-PART 2) and analyzed using SPSS v.14.

Results: Findings revealed that the most patients (64.9%) had perceived social support at high levels. There were significant relationships between social support with economic status, gender and marital status (P<0.05). Findings also indicated that the statements of "I enjoy doing little extra things that make another person&aposs life more pleasant" and, "I belong to a group in which I feel important" had the highest and lowest scores respectively.

Conclusion: Regarding the variety of perceptions in hemodialysis patients on social support and its related factors, nurses can prevent social isolation of these patients through identification of high risk groups and can also reduce their stresses and help them to improve their quality of life by providing adequate supportive interventions.

 

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Background & Aim: Given the importance of mothers’ health and considering that developmental delay in children affects their mothers’ mental health this study aimed to compare stress and perceived social support in mothers of 6-18 month old children with and without developmental delay.

Methods & Materials: This cross-sectional, analytical study was performed on 610 mothers and their 6-18 month-old infants in health centers affiliated to Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. The participants were selected through the multi-stage random sampling. To collect data, the following questionnaires were used: obstetric and demographic characteristics, socio-economic status, infants’ characteristics, the Cohen perceived stress scale, perceived social support, and Ages and Stages questionnaire to determine the children’s development status. The data were analyzed by SPSS v.19 software and using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, chi-square, independent t-test and Man-Whitney statistical tests.

Results: The mean age of infants were 10.68±4.5 months. Independent t-test revealed a significant difference between mothers’ perceived stress (P=0.004) and social support (P=0.01) in the two groups. In addition, a relationship was observed between the mother’s social support and stress (P<0.04).

Conclusion: The results showed that mothers of children with developmental delays have more stress and lower perceived social support than mothers of normal children. Therefore, it is recommended to perform developmental screening for further examination and the reduction of mothers’ stress, as well as to provide appropriate social support.

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Background & Aim: Chronic diseases are one of the most prevalent health problems affecting the quality of an adolescent's interaction with others. Social support can be important particularly during adolescence due to the many internal and external changes that happen to a person. This study aimed to determine the levels of perceived social support and its correlated factors in adolescents with chronic disease.

Methods & Materials: In this cross-sectional study, 172 adolescents 11-16 years with a chronic disease referred to Tehran’s selected hospitals, were included using purposive sampling during three months in 2014. Data were collected through “children and adolescents social support questionnaire”. Data were analyzed by independent t-tests, one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple linear regression on SPSS software v.22.

Results: The total score of perceived social support (45.46±5.88) was at a high level. Among the demographic factors, gender (P<0.01), ethnicity, parental education, family income, number of children, birth order, and having insurance (P<0.001) showed a significant correlation with perceived social support. Among the factors related to illness, the type of chronic disease (P<0.01), the number of hospitalizations (P<0.001), the lack of participation in group activities due to illness (P=0.04), school absenteeism rates (P=0.002) and academic failure (P<0.001) were significantly associated with perceived social support.

Conclusion: According to the findings of this study, given the level of perceived social support and its related factors, it is recommended to pay more attention to caring for adolescents with chronic disease at the community level.

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Background & Aim: Women with cancer face many stresses. Social support can facilitate coping skills and improve active coping strategies. The purpose of this study was to assess perceived stress and its relationship with perceived social support in women undergoing chemotherapy for genital cancers.
Methods & Materials: This descriptive, correlational study was conducted from March to May 2016 on 151 patients undergoing chemotherapy for gynecologic cancers in oncology wards of Alzahra and Shahid Ghazi hospitals in Tabriz. The perceived stress scale (PSS) and perceived social support scale (PRQ-85-part2) were completed through interviews with patients. Data analysis was performed using the Pearson correlation test, one-way ANOVA and independent t-test.
Results: Mean (and standard deviation) total score of perceived stress for women was 42.26 (3.97) in the score range of 0-56. Mean (and standard deviation) total score of perceived social support for women was 127.55 (16.64) in the score range of 25-175. Based on the Pearson correlation test, no statistically significant correlation was observed between perceived stress and perceived social support (P=0.324, r=0.08).
Conclusion: The findings indicated that the perceived stress score for women with genital cancers was high. Nevertheless, no relationship was observed between perceived stress and perceived social support. Therefore, further studies are needed in this area.