Introduction: One of the important factors in helping to reduce complications and improve the quality of life of patients after cancer is to adhere to self-care behaviors, and predicting the factors affecting it—especially in patients with colorectal cancer—is one of the priorities of nursing in the care of these patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between social support and self-care behaviors in patients with colorectal cancer referred to hospitals affiliated with Urmia University of Medical Sciences in 2023.
Methods: This study was a descriptive-correlational study, and its statistical population included all patients referred and hospitalized in the internal departments of gastroenterology, oncology, and chemotherapy clinics of hospitals (Imam Khomeini and Ayatollah Taleghani) affiliated with Urmia University of Medical Sciences in the second half of 2023. 270 patients were selected through the convenience sampling method and based on the inclusion criteria and were examined using a questionnaire. In order to collect data, the form of demographic characteristics of patients, perceived social support by Zimet et al., and self-care in patients with colorectal cancer were used. Data were analyzed with SPSS 21 statistical software and using statistical tests.
Results: Most of the research subjects (53.0%) were in the age range of 51 to 60 years, (53.3%) were male, (80%) were married, with (36.7%) having education below diploma, and (30.4%) had informal jobs. Most of them (36.7%) had a history of hospitalization twice, 90 people (33.3%) had a history of two rounds of chemotherapy, and 39.3% had a history of colon surgery. The mean score of social support was 26.53 ± 8.99 (moderate), the mean score of self-care behaviors (also moderate). Social support and all its components had a significant and direct relationship with self-care behaviors based on Pearson's correlation coefficient (r=0.391 and P<0.001).
Conclusion: Considering that the total average of social support and self-care behaviors was moderate, and in most studies, social support is known as the most important factor affecting self-care behaviors, it is necessary to pay more attention to this variable in future interventions to provide the means to improve self-care behaviors.