The effect of social support on posttraumatic growth in patients with gastrointestinal cancer: a systematic review

Introduction: Post-traumatic growth (PTG) is known as a psychological phenomenon in which people experience positive changes in their lives after traumatic experiences. In cancer patients, social support can play an important role in facilitating this process. This systematic review examines the effect of social support on posttraumatic growth in patients with gastrointestinal cancer. Methods: Science Direct, Pub Med, Google Scholar, SID, MagIran databases were reviewed and electronic data were used to identify the psychosocial needs of the family on the burden of family care of heart patients. In the initial search, 68 articles were obtained, of which 38 duplicate articles were removed. Considering the inclusion and exclusion criteria, the number of articles was reduced to 30 articles. From this number, the articles related to the studied subject were screened and 20 studies were examined. In order to increase the strength of the research methodology and check the quality of the collected articles and prevent possible biases, three researchers who had a history of conducting systematic review style articles reviewed the articles in terms of title, abstract, introduction, methodology, results, discussion and supporting resources were discussed and their strengths and weaknesses were identified. Finally, 9 articles were included in the study. Results: The results showed that social support has a significant effect on resilience and resilience also significantly affects post-traumatic growth. High levels of social support predict high levels of adaptive coping and, consequently, post-traumatic growth. This study also showed that perceived stress can influence the relationship between social support and growth. The analyzes showed that 56.3% of the changes in post-traumatic growth are explained by the combination of social support and resilience. Conclusion: Perceived social support and resilience are two key factors that can contribute to post-traumatic growth in gastrointestinal cancer patients. Strengthening these two factors can have positive effects on the quality of life and mental health of these patients. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to the creation of support networks and programs to strengthen resilience for cancer patients so that they can better cope with the challenges caused by their disease.