Hope in Iranian cancer patients

Abstract

• BACKGROUND: Hope is an important factor in the recovery of cancer patients. Few Iranian studies investigated the level of hope in cancer patients. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the level of hope in Iranian cancer patients and the related factors.
• METHODS: In a descriptive correlational study, 150 cancer patients were selected by a consecutive sampling method. Hope in patients was measured by the Herth Hope Index. Data analysis was performed using descriptive and inferential statistics.
• RESULTS: Results indicated that 61.1% of the patients had high levels of hope, 35.4% had moderate levels of hope, and 3.5% had low levels of hope. Hope has a statistically significant relationship with family support, but it is not statistically associated with other patient characteristics.
• CONCLUSIONS: Many cancer patients had a high level of hope. However, further studies are recommended to investigate the relation between hope and patient characteristics.
• KEY WORDS: Cancer, patients, oncology.