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Depression, hope and social support among older people with cancer: a comparison of Muslim Palestinian and Jewish Israeli cancer patients

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Abstract

Objectives

Studies of depression in older Muslim Palestinians diagnosed with cancer are scarce. To gain insight into the psychological response and coping ability of this very large, globally distributed population, we collected data from older Muslim Palestinian people diagnosed with cancer concerning depression hope and perceived social support. Both hope and social support were selected because they can be manipulated through intervention and education, as shown in the geriatric literature. Data were compared to data collected from older Jewish Israeli people diagnosed with cancer.

Design

The study sample comprised 143 Muslim Palestinian and 110 Jewish Israeli people diagnosed with cancer, aged ≥ 65. All participants were either in treatment for active disease or within 6 months of such treatment. Self-administered measures included depression (the Five-Item Geriatric Depression Scale), perceived social support (Cancer Perceived Agents of Social Support Questionnaire) and hope (Snyder’s Adult Hope Scale).

Results

Hope and depression were both found to be significantly higher among the Muslim Palestinian patients than in the Jewish Israeli participants. In both samples, higher levels of hope were associated with lower levels of depression, with this correlation stronger in the Jewish Israeli group.

Conclusion

To improve the psychological wellbeing of patients, healthcare providers must exercise cultural sensitivity in their interactions, respecting the perspectives of both the patients and their families. Incorporating the concept of hope into the therapeutic dialogue and language may improve psychological wellbeing and synchronize the needs and expectations of patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals, resulting in more equitable, effective and value-oriented care.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

This research was supported by Grant #20201212 from the Israeli Cancer Society (ICS).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Behavioral Sciences, Academic College of Tel Aviv-Yaffo, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Gil Goldzweig

  2. Oncology Institute, Assuta Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Lea Baider

  3. Department of Geriatric Rehabilitation and the Center for Palliative Care, Hadassah Medical Center and Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel

    Jeremy M. Jacobs

  4. Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), Makassed Hospital, East Jerusalem, Israel

    Ibtisam M. Ghrayeb

  5. Department of Radiation Oncology, Samson Assuta Ashdod University Hospital, Ashdod, Israel

    Eli Sapir

  6. Sharett Oncology Institute, Hadassah University Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel

    Yakir Rottenberg

Authors
  1. Gil Goldzweig
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  2. Lea Baider
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  4. Ibtisam M. Ghrayeb
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  5. Eli Sapir
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  6. Yakir Rottenberg
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Contributions

conceptualization and methodology—LB, GG, YR; data curation and acquisition—LB, GG, YR, IG; formal data analysis—GG; data interpretation—all authors; original draft preparation, review and editing—all authors. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. All co-authors have seen and agree with the contents of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gil Goldzweig.

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Ethical approval

The study protocol was approved by the Medical Ethics Review Committees of Al-Makassed Hospital, East Jerusalem, Israel.

Informed consent

All participants provided written informed consent prior to study participation.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest or competing interests.

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Goldzweig, G., Baider, L., Jacobs, J.M. et al. Depression, hope and social support among older people with cancer: a comparison of Muslim Palestinian and Jewish Israeli cancer patients. Support Care Cancer 30, 1511–1519 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-021-06554-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-021-06554-6

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