Breast cancer is the most common invasive cancer and a leading cause of premature mortality for females worldwide. It accounts for 16% of all female cancers; 18.2% of all cancer deaths globally are from breast cancer. Social support plays a major role in modifying negative effect of this disease on affected individuals. It is an important psychosocial resource for coping with stressful life events. This study was carried out to examine social support as determinant of emotional adjustment of breast cancer patients after surgery in selected hospitals in Ibadan, Nigeria. This cross-sectional descriptive survey utilized a quantitative approach. A sample of two hundred and eighteen patients was randomly selected from hospitals in Ibadan. The respondents were reassured of confidentiality of the data. The instrument used basically was self-structured questionnaire. Data were collected, coded and analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficient. The respondents’ ages were between 21- 51 years; 87.2% were females, majority of them (81.6%) were Christians, more than half (62.4%) were married, about one third (31.2%) had higher qualifications, 55.0% were civil servants and 74.3% were living with other family members. Result findings show that instrumental support had significant effect on emotional adjustment of the breast cancer patients after surgery. Family and friends helping the patients had a positive effect on their emotional adjustment. Therefore, it was revealed that instrumental support had a positive effect on emotional adjustment of the patients (r.cal = .217, r. critical = .195, P < 0.05). Also, emotional support had a significant effect on emotional adjustment of the patients after surgery. Having family members and friends to talk to and help with personal problems was helpful to emotional adjustment. Thus it was evident that emotional support had a positive effect on emotional adjustment (r. cal = .250, r. critical = .195, P < 0.05) The patients admitted that they had friends and family members who helped them and were a source of comfort to them. This helped them to show a better psychological and emotional adjustment to breast cancer than those who did not have support. It is recommended that adequate attention be given to financial, material and emotional needs of the breast cancer patient. Keywords: Social support, determinant, emotional adjustment, breast cancer patients. Citation Format: Christiana Oluseun Oyewusi, Samuel Oyebode Oyewusi. Social support as emotional adjustment determinant of breast cancer patients after surgery in selected hospitals in Nigeria. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 3457.

Hypertension, an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease, claims about 17.9 million lives every year. There is a largely uncontrolled hypertension epidemic, which results in significant numbers of life-threatening conditions such as myocardial infarction, aneurysm, stroke, end-stage renal disease, congestive heart failure, dementia, and stroke. Adherence to lifestyle modifications and antihypertensive medications is pivotal to hypertension management. Health literacy and social support are germane to medication adherence. The African American population has a disproportionate burden of hypertension. Churches are the livewires of the African American community, advocating multitiered changes that create healthy and supportive living conditions for long-term wellbeing, especially in underserved societies. While many research studies have focused on hypertension, little has been done to explore the illness narratives of African American adults with hypertension. Therefore, the rationale for this narrative study was to generate a deeper understanding of the lived experience and told stories of African American adults with hypertension participating in a faith-based wellness program. Purposeful sampling recruited African American adults (n=15) living with hypertension and participating in a faith-based wellness program. Individual interviews were conducted in person and via Zoom/telephone. Riessman narrative analysis, with the underlying paradigm of social constructionism, was utilized to guide data collection and thematic analysis. Six themes emerged. The overarching theme was self-care behaviors in hypertension management. The main themes were the discovery of the hypertension diagnosis, the realization of hypertension chronicity, the impact of hypertension on everyday life, and social support. Sub-themes were 'Where do I go from here?' and 'social support: not always up for grabs'. Roadblocks to social support included healthcare professionals' historical and current negative attitudes toward people of color. Self-care behaviors played a dominant role in managing hypertension for this group of African American adults who were participating in a faith-based wellness program. Routine medical screenings were critical in the early discovery of hypertension. The chronic nature of hypertension necessitates consistency in lifestyle changes and medication adherence, which may be enhanced by social support and health literacy. Future research should consider the development of interventions that enhance health literacy and social support from the healthcare system, family, and church among African American people living with hypertension.