The association of social capital with depression in cancer patients

Introduction:Social components play a role in promoting the health of people, especially people with cancer,one of which i s social capital. Therefore, this study was designed to determine the association of social capitalwith depression in patients with various types of cancer in the early stages of treatment.Materials and Methods: This study is a descriptive analytical study and was performed on ۱۷۰ patients withvarious cancers admitted to the oncology ward of Imam Khomeini Hospital in Sari. Data collection toolsincluded demographic information questionnaires, Beck depression questionnaire and Onyx and Bullen socialcapital questionnaire. Descriptive statistics such as mean, frequency and inferential statistics such as Pearsoncorrel ation coefficient, Chi square and t test were used to analyze the data by using SPSS software.Results:The mean age of ۱۷۰ patients participating in this study was ۵۴.۳±۱۵.۲۸ years, of which ۹۳ (۵۴.۷%)were male and the rest were female. The mean of depression in patients was ۱۷.۱۰±۳۷.۴۸ which is in therange of mild depression. The mean social capital of patients was ۱۱۰.۰۲±۲۲.۶۴, which indicates moderatesocial capital. According to Pearson correlation coefficient test, t here is a significant inverse associationbetween social capital and depression (p=۰.۰۰۰ and r = ۰.۵۹).Conclusion: Regarding to results, it is suggested that the establishment of non governmental organizations,association s, social organizations and informal organizations to increase the social participation of cancerpatients