The Effects of Social Support on Depression in Patients with Breast Cancer

This study aims to understand the impact of social support on depression, perceived by breast cancer patients. This study is a descriptive correlation study attempted to provide with basic data for a nursing intervention program using a social support system to reduce breast cancer patients' depression. The subjects of this study were 75 persons who did not have another disease or cancer, of the patients who had been diagnosed with breast cancer and had surgery. Prior to the execution of the research, approval was obtained from the Medical Research Council. As for data analysis method, using SPSS statistical program, frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, Pearson correlation, t-test, ANOVA and simple linear regression were analyzed. There was a negative (-) correlation between breast cancer patients' depression and family support at r=.436 (p=.000). In other words, this can be interpreted that the higher their family support, the lower their depression becomes. As a result of an analysis of depression and family support with a statistically significant difference by simple linear regression, family support is a significant predictive factor of breast cancer patients' depression, which can explain 19% of depression. This suggests that family support should be related to breast cancer patients' depression, so it may be considered an important variable in a developing nursing intervention program.