This study was conducted with the purpose of determining the relationship between social support and hopelessness in cancer patients, and the relationship of these two with the sociodemographic and medical properties of the patients. Hundred cancer patients admitted to the oncology and hematology clinic in Erzurum were studied. The data were collated using a questionnaire determining the sociodemographic features, the Beck Hopelessness Scale, and the Perceived Social Support From Family Scale. While the mean total social support score of patients was 16.5 +/- 2.5, their mean hopelessness score was 6.5 +/- 3.6. There was a negative correlation between social support and hopelessness. Hopelessness of the patients was reduced with increasing social support. No significant relationship was found between the sociodemographic and medical states of the patients and their social support and hopelessness. This result reveals that the families have important roles with the patients and should be educated and supported by healthcare professionals in approaching the patient wisely. Besides, we propose that the factors affecting the emotional states of patients in this group should be determined with comprehensive studies. Assessing the patients' level of social support may help identify patients at risk for distress.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

ÖZET Amaç: Bu araştırma kanser hastalarının hastalıklarını nasıl algıladıklarını ve bu algıyı etkileyen faktörleri belirlemek amacıyla yapılmıştır. Yöntem: Tanımlayıcı olarak yapılan bu araştırma Atatürk Üniversitesi Sağlık Araştırma ve Uygulama Hastanesi Medikal Onkoloji Kliniği'nde yürütülmüştür. Araştırma verileri Ocak-Eylül 2010 tarihleri arasında toplanmıştır. Araştırmaya belirtilen tarihler arasında klinikte yatarak tedavi gören 18 yaş ve üzerinde, Türkçe okuyabilen ve anlayabilen, araştırmaya gönüllü olarak katılan, araştırmaya katılmayı engelleyebilecek fiziksel ve zihinsel bir engeli bulunmayan 192 hasta dahil edilmiştir. Araştırmanın verileri soru formu ve Hastalık Algısı Ölçeği ile toplanmıştır. Bulgular: Hastaların hastalığın başlangıcından beri en fazla yorgunluk yaşadığı ve en çok bu belirtiyi hastalıkları ile ilişkilendirdikleri tespit edilmiştir. Hastaların hastalık hakkındaki görüşleri ile ilgili alt boyutlar incelendiğinde; kişisel kontrol algısı ve sonuçlar algısı puan ortalamalarının diğer alt boyutlara göre yüksek olduğu ve süre (döngüsel) algısı ve hastalığı anlayabilme puan ortalamalarının ise en düşük olduğu bulunmuştur. Hastaların en fazla hastalık nedeni olarak risk faktörlerini algıladıkları belirlenmiştir. Sonuç; hastaların hastalığın süresi, seyri ve tedavisi üzerindeki iç kontrol algılarının yüksek ve hastalığı anlama ve kavramalarının düşük olduğu belirlemiştir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Hastalık algısı, hemşire, kanser ABSTRACT Objectives: The purpose of this study is to determine how cancer patients perceive their illness and factors affecting the perception illness. Methods: The study was a descriptive and cross-sectional study. Data were collected Erzurum Atatürk University Research Hospital Medical Oncology Clinic between February and September, 2010. The study population was consisted of 192 cancer patients, who was over 18 years of age, who understand and can speak Turkish, without any psychiatric illness diagnosis and awareness of th eillness. Data collection tools were Patient Quastionnaire and İlness Percepitions Questionnaire. Results: Since the beginning of the disease patients experienced fatigue symptoms and associated this symptom with their illness. When examined subscales related to their views on the disease patients; the score mean for perception of personal control and perception of consequences all sub-scales regarding the patients' view on their illness, was higher in comparison to all other sub-scales of the scale. The score mean for perception of time (cyclical) and perception of illness coherence was the lowest. Risk factors attributions were determined as the most common reasons behind the patient illness. Conclusion; It is determined high internal control on duration of illness and course illness, treatment. It is determined low understanding of illness. Keywords: Illness perceptions, nurse, cancer Giriş İnsanların sağlık ve hastalıklarıyla ilgili algıları ve bunların birbiriyle ilişkisinin belirlenmesinin sağlığı sürdürme, hastalıkların önlenmesi, tedavi ve reh...

Objective:Cancer is a disease that not only affects the individual's mental and physical integrity but also affects the functionality of the family system. Caregivers experience stress when patients cannot cope with the symptoms they are experiencing. The stress experienced by caregivers gives rise to psychological and physical symptoms. The purpose of this study is to determine the attitude of coping with stress of family caregivers of cancer patients.Methods:This study was conducted as a descriptive research at the Medical Oncology Clinic. The study sample group comprised of 127 family caregivers. In the collection of the data, the Personel Information Form and Attitude of Coping with Stress Inventory were used.Results:The coping attitude used most frequently by family caregivers was active planning, and the least used coping attitude was avoidance isolation (biochemical). There was no significant statistical difference between the coping attitude depending on the descriptive characteristics of the family caregivers (P > 0.05).Conclusion:Results show that family caregivers of cancer patients tend to choose effective coping methods. However, there were still caregivers that displayed ineffective coping attitudes. Therefore, it is important to support the effective coping attitudes of caregivers and intervene in order to change the ineffective coping attitudes.

The purpose of this study was to determine distress levels and religious coping styles of cancer patients and the relationship between religious coping styles and distress. This study was conducted as descriptive design. It was determined that 60.7% of the patients experienced distress related to the disease. The field of problem from which the patients mostly experienced distress was physical problems. It was observed that positive coping scores of the patients were higher. There was a negative correlation between their mean scores for positive religious styles and distress total scores.

The aim of this study is to adapt "Elders Health Empowerment Scale" (EHES) to Turkish and to find out the validity and reliability of the scale.Desing and Methods: This methodological study was conducted with 300 patients who agreed to participate in the study in Turkey.Findings: It was found that Cronbach's α reliability coefficient of the scale was .90, item factor loads of the scale ranged between 0.30 and 0.89 and item-total correlation coefficients ranged between 0.30 and 0.84. The one-factor structure of the scale was supported as a result of the CFA and EFA conducted. Good fit index values were obtained as a result of CFA.