Social support in children with cancer: A review of the literature*1

Abstract

Families experiencing childhood cancer are confronted with many stressors throughout the course of illness. For children with cancer, such stressors may be especially challenging. The extent to which they are able to deal with such challenges appears to be partly contingent on the support available from others. Positive social relations are considered to improve the quality of life of individuals in general and to help protect or buffer them from stressful life events such as cancer. This article presents a critical review and synthesis of research examining social support in children with cancer. Recommendations for research that will provide a foundation for understanding social support in children with cancer are outlined. These recommendations include the need to investigate (a) social support as a guiding, central construct, (b) social support from a family socio-cultural perspective, (c) social support from a developmental perspective, and (d) social support as a process. Implications for pediatric oncology nursing practice are discussed.

Sense of School Belonging and Paediatric Illness: A Scoping Review

“…For these reasons, it is essential to promote social support during hospitalization or home care, especially from family members (Trask et al, 2003;Woodgate, 1999), peers (Ingersgaard et al, 2021;Soejima et al, 2015), and teachers (Äärelä et al, 2018;Ingersgaard et al, 2021;Lindsey, 1981;McCarthy et al, 2017). Indeed, research has established that social support is a protective factor for patients' psycho-physical well-being; in the case of children, the support of peers (e.g., friends, classmates) seems especially important.…”

Social support and childhood cancer survivors: A systematic review (2006–2022)

“…However, mixed findings in relation to gender, age and group differences indicates the need for more research elucidating these findings further. Like previous reviews conducted by Woodgate 13 and Decker, 14 this review further highlights the methodological challenges that researchers face when studying social support in childhood cancer survivorship literature. If research on social support among childhood cancer survivors is to expand and provide more meaningful information for the care and support of survivors, there is a need for further research adopting larger sample sizes, using more DEEGAN ET AL.…”

“…12 Emotional and instrumental support are the most commonly valued supports by survivors. 13,14 A further distinction can be made between perceived social support and received social support. Perceived social support refers to an individual's own appraisal of their social support, while received social support refers to evaluations of actual levels of support received.…”

“…Woodgate 13 carried out a literature review on research examining the varying dimensions of social support in children with cancer. However, Woodgate 13 noted that the majority of studies included in their review predominantly relied on parent or medical staff proxies of children's social support rather than studies examining social support from the perspective of the child. Taking this into consideration, Decker 32 conducted a systematic review on studies examining social support from the perspective of adolescent cancer survivors aged 10-21 years.…”

“…30 Christiansen and colleagues 31 conducted a review with children and adolescents with cancer to investigate social interaction as a standard of care in paediatric oncology and found evidence to suggest that youth with cancer should be provided with opportunities for social interaction, an important unmet need shown to improve adjustment, increase knowledge and decrease isolation; hence, implying the importance of social support. Woodgate 13 carried out a literature review on research examining the varying dimensions of social support in children with cancer. However, Woodgate 13 noted that the majority of studies included in their review predominantly relied on parent or medical staff proxies of children's social support rather than studies examining social support from the perspective of the child.…”