Saturday, 15 January 2005 - 12:00 PM

This presentation is part of: Poster Session II

Social Networks and Quality of Life among Long-Term Survivors of Leukemia and Lymphoma

Purpose: Social networks have been recognized as a critical determinant of health and health care in the general population. Recent studies have examined the role of social networks in cancer screening behavior and cancer survival, but few have examined the influence of social networks on cancer survivors' quality of life (QOL). The purpose of this study was to understand the relationship of personal and medical characteristics and QOL for long-term cancer survivors diagnosed with leukemia and lymphoma, and the extent to which social networks impact upon this relationship.

Methods: Fifty-three long-term survivors of leukemia and lymphoma (at least 10 years post-diagnosis) were administered a standardized psychometric instrument, the Quality of Life - Cancer Survivors (QOL-CS), specifically developed for use with a population of adult cancer survivors to assess physical, psychological, social and spiritual aspects of QOL. Social network characteristics were measured by items assessing social support satisfaction, utilization of supportive care services, social network size, and boundedness.

Results: A hierarchical regression model was used to predict QOL. The final model, including all predictors (side effects, health problems, income, social network size, boundedness, social support satisfaction, and utilization of supportive care services), explained 52.4% of the variance in QOL. Psychosocial network characteristics (social support satisfaction (©¬=.390, P=.002) and utilization of supportive care services (©¬=-.262, P=.050)) were significant predictors of QOL, even after controlling for physical side effects, health problems, income, social network size, and boundedness. However, psychosocial network characteristics did not attenuate the significant relationship between personal and medical characteristics and QOL. Social network structures (including social network size and boundedness) were indirectly associated with QOL through psychosocial network characteristics, in particular, utilization of supportive care services.

Implications for Practice: Evidence of both a direct relationship of psychosocial network characteristics and an indirect relationship of social network structures on QOL for long-term cancer survivors serves as a rationale for developing interventions that enhance cancer survivors' social participation and ultimately improve their QOL.

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