Social needs of cancer caregivers: Facet theory

The aim of this study was to identify and understand the social needs of caregivers of cancer patients in order to provide the necessary information to design educational and psychological interventions based on the needs of these caregivers. This research was conducted in a qualitative manner using the facet theory approach in 1399. Participants are caregivers of cancer patients in Tehran. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 21 caregivers and using theoretical and Purposeful sampling to achieve information saturation. Based on the coding of the texts of the interviews and observations, their needs and classifications were extracted. The social support needs identified can be classified into three categories: emotional, instrumental, and information. The sub-categories extracted from these results are: "Need for specialized centers and support organizations","Need for job support"," Need to connect with the community "and" need for medical information and mental health ". The social consequences of cancer are significant for the caregiver. In terms of the need to connect with the community, it seems that separating the caregiver from the community is serious and even after completing the care period, it is difficult for the caregiver to return to the community. Educating people in the community is useful for better understanding caring conditions. Having medical information and mental health helps the caregiver to create a sense of control, so it is necessary to create awareness among health care professionals, and finally job support was identified as one of the important factors to meet the caregiver's tool needs.