Psycho-socio-economic Status of Cancer Patients in Sari, Iran 2017

Background and purpose: The impact of cancer on various aspects of life is definitely proven in many studies. In this research, we aimed to study the psychological, social, and economic status of patients with different types of cancer in Mazandaran province, Iran. This cross-sectional study was conducted in patients with cancer who were admitted to Sari Imam Khomeini Hospital, 2017. Data was collected using a researcher-made form that was designed to determine the frequency of the most important and the most common psychological, social, and economic components. The form was completed by researchers, at the Cancer Research Center, for 375 patients with cancer who were selected by convenience sampling. Psychologically, most of the patients accepted their disease at the time of diagnosis (46.9%). Most of the participants mentioned the death of loved ones as the most important bitter incident before the disease (41.6%). Children status was one of the main concerns among the patients (57.3%). From the social point of view, the majority of patients reported optimum emotional relationship with their spouse (75.4%). The results also showed that most of the patients were financially dependent on their spouse (62.7%). This study suggests that simultaneous attention to psychological, social, and economic aspects of cancer patients can lead to significant outcomes.