A Study On The Assistance In Clan To Cancer Patients From The Perspective Of Informal Support

Because cancer is of the high incidence of cancer,high treatment cost and low recovery-rate,and the patients need be taken care of for a long time,cancer shows a deep influence both on personal health and happiness,and on the living rhythm of the patient's family,even affects their clansmen.Therefore,the treatment and care to those cancer patients is not only a public health issue involving livelihood,also a real trouble that patients' families and clansmen have to deal with.Although the role of clan is gradually more unimportance in our daily time,the function of clansmen for the patients with cancer has been widely estimated in academia.So,the care for patients with cancer from their clans in County C has attracted our attention.Then,it has been investigated that one cancer hospital in the capital of H province and three cancer patients from C county of X city,H province.We has comprehensively concluded the content,characteristics,functions and reasons of the care from clan,and explored how to help those clans with cancer patients with knowledge of social work.The results can be been concluded as following.The supports from clan for cancer patients most are about the necessity of survival and emotion,while the financial support is less andinformation support is overlooked by almost all clansman.The main caregivers for cancer patients are their spouses or parents,other caregivers are their relatives who are older or have relatively more leisure time,while their off-springs provides less help.The care from clan is of five major functions: Firstly,the care can relieve the negative emotions of patients,which is conducive to their treatment and recovery;Secondly,it can shorten the time that the main caregivers take;Thirdly,it is beneficial not only to the enhance of family ability,but also to the inheritance of family values;Fourthly,the care from clans can promote clansmen to help each other both in daily life and in troubles;Fifthly,cares have the educational and cultural functions,because those actions are also pedagogical practice which improve their sense of morality and belonging.The reasons for the increasing of care in clans is attributed to the influence of traditional-Confucian culture(filial piety),family values,the awareness of group and blood relationship and the migration of population.There are still the following problems for the care from clans: Firstly,financial and information support for cancer patients in clans are seriously inadequate;Secondly,the emotion of main caregivers is overlooked in their daily life;Thirdly,the interchange between the patients and the caregivers has a huge obstacle,which is poisonous for the harmony in family.Furthermore,we provide some advices that help social worker improve the cares in clans.In society,social worker should play a role in policy advocacy.Governments need put more effort on the construction of social organizations and the training of professional talents.In community,we can explore and utilize more community-resource to support main caregivers and improve the professional institutions.Social workers should know the real needs of the caregivers in clans and use a variety of methods to help the clan caregivers.