EVALUATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOCIAL SUPPORT AND DEPRESSION IN THE PATIENTS WITH BREAST CANCER IN AHVAZ EDUCATIONAL HOSPITALS

Background & Objective: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women and is the second reason of women’s death due to cancer. The prevalence of depression is considerable in these patients. Social support is one of the important factors affecting the life quality in these patients.The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship between depression and social support in patients with breast cancer.Subjects and Methods: In this study, the sample was 50 patients with breast cancer that were referred to educational hospitals in Ahvaz. The relationship between variables were analyzed for these patients. We used Beck questionnaire for measuring depression and Philips questionnaire for measuring social support. Data were analyzed with SPSS17 statistic software.Results: The mean age was 45.04 years. 14% of patients were single and 86% were married. Mean score for depression was 19.58 and mean score for social support was 14.92. There was a reverse relationship between age and educational state. In addition, the results showed that in patients with a higher educational state, the social support score was significantly higher. In this study, a significant reverse relationship was seen between depression and social support.Conclusion: The results of this study emphasize the importance of social support in prevention and reduction of depression in patients. Moreover, it shows education as an affecting factor on reducing the depression in these patients.