Relationship between social support and fatigue in geriatric patients receiving outpatient chemotherapy.
OBJECTIVE
This descriptive study was conducted with the purpose of determining the relationship between fatigue and social support in elderly individuals receiving chemotherapy.


METHODS
It was conducted in the oncology outpatient chemotherapy units of two university hospitals and one research hospital. A total of 71 patients who were 60 years old and older and receiving outpatient chemotherapy were included. Data were collected using a "Personal Information Form," "Social Support Scale in Cancer Patients," and "Visual Analogue Scale for Fatigue."


RESULTS
Fatigue was the most common symptom (93%) in elderly patients receiving chemotherapy. The elderly individuals' perceived level of social support was found to be "good", the main form of support they received from those around them was "security" and the area most lacking was felt to be "information." As the individuals' level of social support increased, the severity of the fatigue they experienced decreased.


CONCLUSIONS
The data demonstrate that social support was imperative in coping with fatigue.
Karakoç
Tuğba
T
Mersin State Hospital, Intensive Care Unit, Mersin, Turkey. karakoctugba@yahoo.com
Yurtsever
Sabire
S
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000379:methods; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005221:Fatigue / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000451:nursing; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology*; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D009859:Oncology Nursing / Q000379:methods; D010045:Outpatients / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011336:Probability; D018570:Risk Assessment; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D012944:Social Support; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014421:Turkey