Relationships between Sex, Race, and Social Class and Social Support Networks in Kidney, Liver, and Pancreas Transplant Recipients

Abstract

Context The contribution of social support networks to the recovery of transplant recipients is an important assessment in measuring improved physical and psychosocial well-being. Social support networks are described by structure, type, and function. Objectives (1) To describe the levels of structure (size, formal and informal support), type (concrete, emotional, and informational), and function (criticalness, direction, closeness, frequency, and duration) of the social support network and (2) to examine the relationships between individual characteristics of sex, race, and social class and social support networks. Methods This exploratory-descriptive study was done in a Mid-south transplant center. A total of 258 kidney, liver, and pancreas transplant recipients participated, 61% of whom were less than 50 years old. Instruments included a demographic questionnaire, the social support network pie chart, and the social support network grid. Descriptive statistics and analysis of variance were used with a .05 significance level. Results The social support network comprised extended family (67%), with a mean of 13.68 members. Emotional support was the most prevalent type of support reported. The mean (SD) duration of support was 7.9 (4.9) years. Sex, race, and social class had no main relationships with structure and type of support. However, women had a main effect with closeness (F=4.98, P<.03) and African Americans had significantly higher levels of frequency of support (F=7.51, P<.01) and longer duration of support (F=9.07, P< .01) than did whites. Social and nursing intervention may improve the network closeness in males and may also augment support frequency and duration for whites.