Sangnuan Chiewprasit. The relationships among social support, hope, selected factors and well-being of head injury patients . Master's Degree(Adult Nursing). Mahidol University. : Mahidol University, 2003.
The relationships among social support, hope, selected factors and well-being of head injury patients
Abstract:
This study is a descriptive correlation study, aiming to investigate
relationships among social support, hope, selected factors and well-being of head
injury patients. The samples were 90 patients with head injuries who came for a
follow-up treatment at neurosurgery clinics of the Out-Patient Department at Chonburi
Hospital, Rayong Hospital, and Chachoengsao Hospital. The research instruments
were demographic data, Personal Resources, Herth Hope Index, and General Well-
Being Questionnaires. Data was collected between January and March 2003.
Statistical analysis used were descriptive statistics and Pearson’s Product Moment
Correlation Coefficient.
The results showed that the majority of samples were males (80%) with age
ranging from 15 to 66 years with an average of 29.28 years and most of them were
single (61%). More than a half of the samples were unable to work due to health
problems (65%), which affected their incomes (54%). Most head injury patients were
diagnosed with subdural hematoma (38%). Many patients still needed continuous
medical treatment, such as anticonvulsant drugs (38%) and headache relief drugs
(30%). The time between the head injury and the interview ranged from 3 to 480
weeks with an average of 44.20 weeks. Moreover, head injury led to 3 major
problems, which were headache 55%, communication impairment 36%, and slow
response or cognition 36%. Over a half of the samples (67%) had Rancho Los Amigos
Level of Cognitive Functioning scale 8. The majority of family caregivers at home
were mothers (48%). The results indicated high social support (mean = 136.81, S.D. =
11.32) and hope (mean = 37.16, S.D. = 3.18). It appeared that the well-being of
patients was slightly high level (mean = 72.44, S.D. = 13.71). Furthermore, it was
found that social support and hope had positive correlation at moderate level with
well-being of head injury patients (r = .401, .56, p < .01, respectively). However, age
and duration after injury had no relationship to well-being of head injury patients
(r = - .039, .049, p > .05, respectively).
The implications of the study are that, nurses should realize the importance
of positive family relationships, and evaluate patients’ social networks in order to give
enough support to patients. Moreover, patients should be encouraged to hope, which
influences their well-being.