A Model of Social Support for a Patient–Informal Caregiver Dyad

Abstract

Background. Close persons (informal caregivers) are the most important providers of support indicated by cancer patients. Cancer affects couples as a codependent system. The aim of this study was to investigate the factors influencing the multidimensional aspect of social support in a cancer patient–informal caregiver dyad. Methods. The research project was cross-sectional. The diagnostic survey method and the survey technique were used. The study was conducted using standardised research tools: BSSS, POS, SSCS, TIPI, ET, SPT, and the authors’ own tool for sociodemographic assessment. Results. Patients and caregivers experienced injustice, exclusion, and a sense of loss with a similar intensity. Statistically significant differences between the examined patients and their caregivers were obtained for the support currently received ( $p<0.01$ ), emotional support ( $p<0.05$ ), and the general level of protective buffering support ( $p<0.001$ ). A higher level of information support for caregivers increases the need for support and a sense of support for patients. Conclusion. The quality of functioning and mental well-being of patients is directly influenced by the way their caregivers experience the situation of caring for them; negative or positive states of caregivers, affecting the condition of patients, may affect the course of treatment and contribute to or delay the improvement of the state of health. The subjective sense of support in patients during treatment depends on the need for help that is shown to their caregivers. The sense of support variable is subjective and sometimes disproportionate to the support received and given. Therefore, both the patient and their loved one should be provided with care during the treatment process. In the treatment process, both patients and their caregivers need more protective buffering support that allows them to overcome difficulties related to stress, anxiety, and insecurity, thus weakening their negative effects rather than functional support: emotional, information, instrumental, or material.