International Journal of Clinical Science and Medical Research

Background: Social support plays a crucial role for patients with haematological malignancies as they navigate their illness course. 

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the impact of social support on the clinical outcomes in this patient population. 

Materials and Methods: This was a prospective longitudinal study carried out at the hospital’s department of Haematology and Blood Transfusion. A hundred and forty two patients were recruited consecutively over a period of 24 months. Data obtained were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23. 

Results: Patients had a median age of 52.6 years (range, 18 - 84 years), and most were males (55.6%), and married (65.5%). A majority of the patients had leukaemias (47.9%) followed by the lymphomas (21.5%) and multiple myeloma (14.8%). A significant number of patients, 71.8% ( n =102) had some form of limited social support. 8.8% (n = 9) of patients received full financial support from the National Health Insurance Agency (NHIA) and this was associated with significant favorable clinical outcomes for these set of patients (p = 0.003). Limited social support from other sources was generally associated with poor clinical outcomes (p > 0.05). 

Conclusion: A major player impacting favorable significant clinical outcomes in patients with haematological malignancies is financial support in our environment. With full financial support patients are able to sustain the economic burden and financial toxicities associated with the management of haematological malignancies. 

Social support, Clinical Outcome, Haematological Malignancies, Nigeria.

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