Cancer and Family Dynamics: The Role of Social Worker in Supporting Pakistani Cancer Patients Families

Abstract

Cancer has not only physical, but emotional stability, communication patterns and overall functioning of the families of the patient is often disrupted, which in turn causes increased stress, role conflict and financial strain. The burden on the family increases in Pakistan, particularly in Punjab, due to a scarcity of healthcare facilities and psychosocial support services, and excessive treatment cost, which is typically transferred to a family, who is expected to handle the role of a caregiver at home. The current study is a quantitative cross-sectional study, which aims at testing the connection between social work interventions and family dynamics. The study uses Chi-square test to examine nominal variables and evaluate the relationships between the results of social work services and family coping. This study identified 300 relatives of cancer patients in Pakistan to be participants in this study. The research population was narrowed down to the family members who were directly engaged with the patient i.e. spouse, parent, or adult children and were directly engaged with a patient who was receiving at least six months of cancer treatment. The structured questionnaire, which was split into four major parts, was used to obtain data. The first one collected demographic data, such as age, gender, connection with the patient, family income, and level of education. In the second section, the research was devoted to the attitudes and psychological effects of cancer on family members and the measurement of the psychological distress and emotional well-being by using the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). Data obtained were analyzed with the help of SPSS version 26. The frequency distributions, percentages and mean scores as the descriptive statistics were used in order to summarize the demographic features of the participants and their most important variables. Also, the Chi-square test was employed to test the relationship between the access to social work interventions and familial dynamic changes, namely, the coping skills, emotional functioning, and financial assistance.