The effect of a social group work based on hope therapy on social isolation among women with cancer

Atefeh Mosayebi; Maliheh Arshi; Hamideh Addelyan Rasi

Atefeh Mosayebi Department of Social work, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran;
Maliheh Arshi Department of Social work, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran;
Hamideh Addelyan Rasi Department of Social Work, Faculty of Social Sciences, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran

Keywords: Social isolation, Hope therapy, Group social work

Abstract

Cancer is one of the hardly curable diseases from which a large number of people suffer. In addition to having physical painful effects on patients, this disease has a lot of psychological and social effects on patients. One of the social consequences of this diseases is social isolation. The Hope Therapy intervention is one of the interventions affecting patients’ psychological and social aspects. The aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of Hope Therapy on social isolation of patients suffering from cancer. The present study was conducted via the clinical trial method and using the experimental pretest-posttest design. Research instruments were the Social Isolation Scale with 38 items and the Social Isolation Scale with five items. Their validity was confirmed via formal and content validity techniques, and their reliability was confirmed via Cronbach’s alpha. The study was conducted by random selection of 49 female patients suffering from cancer selected from charity centers of Behnam Daheshpour and Mahyar (in two 28-participant experimental and 21-participant control groups). The experimental group received 8-session Hope Therapy intervention with the Growth and Development Social Work Model consisting of three components of Goal, Will and Progress. The results of the present study were analyzed via the independent t-test and paired t-test. The results of the study indicated that the Hope Therapy intervention can be effective on the subjective aspect in Hawthorne’ scale and the objective aspect of social isolation (in the scale of Kalantari. In addition, this intervention results in reducing social isolation in the experimental groups. However, the intervention has no significant effect of other subscales. The Hope Therapy intervention and teamwork have been effective on reducing social isolation of patients suffering from cancer. Since cancer affects humans’ physical, mental, and social dimensions, therapeutic interventions on patients should consider social aspects as well.

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Author Biographies

Atefeh Mosayebi, Department of Social work, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran;

Master in social work, Department of Social work, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran;

Maliheh Arshi, Department of Social work, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran;

PhD of Social work, Department of Social work, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran;

Hamideh Addelyan Rasi, Department of Social Work, Faculty of Social Sciences, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran

Department of Social Work, Faculty of Social Sciences, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran

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