Social support, anxiety and depression in sarcoma patients

• Autor(a) principal: Santos, Célia
• Data de Publicação: 2014
• Outros Autores: Lima, Lígia, Bastos-Almeida, Celeste, Freitas , M. Jorge, Magalhães, Emília, Rafael, Rui
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: https://onco.news/index.php/journal/article/view/133
• topic: Sarcomas; ajustamento psicossocial; ansiedade e depressão; apoio social em saúde; Sarcomas; psychosocial adjustment; anxiety and depression; social support in health

Sarcomas are rare malignant tumors, originating from connective tissue or bone tissue. Most frequent treatments for of these tumors are surgical, with the association of chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. The present study is part of a larger research project, and aims to describe social support and emotional adjustment of patients with sarcoma, as well as their socio-demographic and clinical determinants.A descriptive and transversal study was undertaken in two hospitals, with a sample of 30 patients with sarcomas (soft tissue and bone), with an average of 38 years of age and 10 years of education, mostly married and employed. In clinical terms, a significant part of the sample (n = 16; 53 percent) had already started treatment for the disease, such as surgical exeresis of sarcomas, cutaneous metastases or other surgeries associated with complementary treatments. Instruments used: a demographic and clinical questionnaire, The Social Support Scale and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. The results indicated that patients had a positive perception about their social support and presented mild values of anxiety. The majority did not show clinical significant values of depression, although some participants evidenced moderate to severe anxiety levels. Some associations were found between social support and emotional adjustment and socio-demographic variables, such as age, educational level, the number of people in the household and the number of children), but not associations were found with clinical variables. This study is constitutes the initial phase of the evaluation of a problem that needs to be deepened, towards the identification of vulnerable groups that require a greater monitoring by health professionals, since the early stages of the disease and its treatment. Nurses must design and implement monitoring processes of these vulnerable groups and implement interventions adjusted to their real needs.