Information and Support Needs of First-Degree Female Relatives of Breast Cancer Patients

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess information and support needs (ISNs) of first-degree relatives (FDRs) of women with breast cancer. Methods: This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted in a university hospital’s general surgery ward between January and June 2017. The population of the sample consisted of FDRs of women diagnosed with breast cancer and admitted to the hospital ward. The sample consisted of 110 female relatives of the patients, who met the inclusion criteria and agreed to participate in the study. The data was collected with face-to-face interviews using a Personal Information Form and the Information and Support Needs Questionnaire (ISNQ). The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: The mean scores of the importance of information needs (3.68 ± 0.36) were higher than the mean scores of the importance of support needs (3.24 ± 0.58). In addition, the mean scores of meeting the information needs (2.28 ± 0.35) were higher than the mean scores of meeting the support needs (1.93 ± 0.34). Conclusion/Implications for Practice: The findings of the study suggest that the information needs were regarded as more important than the support needs, and the information needs were met more often than the support needs. Nurses should record the family histories of FDRs of breast cancer patients, assess these histories in light of the danger for breast cancer, and meet the information needs of the relatives.