“Apoyo social y su relación con la resiliencia en pacientes oncológicos”

Abstract

Cancer is a disease that totally alters the life of those who suffer from it, due to the care it takes to cope with it and the unpleasant emotional experience it leaves, which represents a challenge for both the person and their family members. The present investigation determines the relationship between social support and resilience in oncological patients, the prevalence level of these two variables and finally explore the same according to age and gender. Regarding the methodology used, the research was carried out using a quantitative, cross-sectional, correlational, bibliographic-documentary and field approach, in which 100 patients diagnosed with cancer participated in the SOLCA-Tungurahua Oncology Unit, use of the MOS Social Support Questionnaire and the Resilience CD-RISC, which presented a high level of validity and reliability. The analysis was performed using Pearson's Chi-square statistical test. As for the results obtained: the population was between the ages of 25 - 75 years, most of them women with heterogeneous levels of schooling and cancer. It was found that the highest percentage of patients had a high level of social support predominating in the dimension of "instrumental support" and "emotional support", and average level of resilience with predominance in "Spirituality" and "Control and purpose. However, it was shown that there is no relationship between these two variables and there is no significant differentiation of the scores in relation to age and gender. The intervention made of social support in patients with cancer should be considered as the initiative for the realization of new studies since cancer patients are a vulnerable population due to the effects of treatment as it causes physical and emotional exhaustion.