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.

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Since caregivers have roles and responsibilities in all phases from the diagnosis of the disease to discharge and homecare, their care burdens increase. The problems experienced by caregivers, whose care burden increase and accordingly whose life quality is deteriorated, complicate the treatment-receiving patient's adaptation to the disease. This study was performed to determine the burden to primary caregivers of patients undergoing dialysis. This descriptive study was conducted with the family caregivers of 114 patients from Erzurum Ataturk University's Medical Faculty Nephrology Department: 54 were relatives of patients receiving hemodialysis and 60 were relatives of patients receiving peritoneal dialysis during August to December 2014. The percentage of the patients with low levels of caregiver burden is 13% in the hemodialysis group, while it is 35% in the peritoneal dialysis group. These findings are statistically significant. To conclude, chronic diseases affect not only patients, but also their relatives who care for them. Nursing care needs to include both patients and their relatives and support them. It is hoped that this study will guide nursing care in this direction.

Background and objectives: Fatigue and sleep problems are very commonly observed in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). The Progressive Muscle Relaxation Technique (PMRT), used as one of the alternative methods in recent years, is reported to have benefits such as facilitating sleep and reducing sensitivity against fatigue. This research was conducted to investigate the effect of PMRT on fatigue and sleep quality in patients with MS. Setting and design: This research was performed as a single-group pretest/post-test pretrial model. The research was conducted between March 2008 and December 2009 in the neurology polyclinic. Materials and methods: The study was conducted with 32 patients who met the research criteria and agreed to participate in the study. A Personal Information Form was used as a data collection tool, Fatigue Severity Scale was used for measuring fatigue, and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index was used for evaluating the sleep quality. PMRT was applied to the sample group once a day for 6 weeks. Statistical analysis: Percentage, paired t-test, and Pearson's correlation analysis were used in the assessment of data. Results: It was determined that PMRT decreased patients' fatigue level and improved their sleep quality, and this difference was observed to be statistically significant. Moreover, patients' fatigue level increased as their sleep quality decreased. Conclusions: This study supports the effect of PMRT on fatigue and sleep quality in patients with MS, and it is recommended that further studies be conducted on this subject in the future.

Objective:Patients receiving chemotherapy struggle with the side effects of this treatment. These side effects obligate the patients to use not only the pharmacological methods but also non-pharmacological relaxing methods. This study was conducted to determine the effect of reflexology on chemotherapy-induced nausea, vomiting, and fatigue in breast cancer patients.Methods:The study was conducted as a pretest–posttest experimental design. The study was conducted with sixty patients, thirty as the control and thirty as the experimental groups. A sociodemographic form, Rhodes index of nausea, vomiting, and retching (INVR), and Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI) were used to collect the data. Analysis of variance, t-test, percentage calculations, and Chi-square methods were used to evaluate the data. The data obtained were assessed using the “Statistical Package for Social Science 21.0” software.Results:It was determined that the difference between the total mean scores of INVR in the experimental and control groups was significant on the onset and first and second measurements, and the difference between total mean scores of development and distress between the groups was statistically significant in the third measurement (P < 0.05). The results of the study showed that the BFI mean scores of patients in the experimental group gradually decreased in the first, second, and third measurements (P < 0.05).Conclusions:The present study proved that reflexology decreased the experience, development, distress of nausea, vomiting, and retching as well as fatigue in the experimental group. Hence, the use of reflexology is recommended for chemotherapy-induced nausea, vomiting, and fatigue.

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This study revealed that there is a high prevalence of use of alternative therapies by individuals living in eastern Turkey.

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