Purpose: Unmet support needs are prevalent in men affected by prostate cancer. Moreover, little is known about the optimal type of social support, or its mechanism effect between coping and emotional outcome in men affected by this disease to identify areas for clinical intervention. This study aimed to empirically test the propositions of social support theory in "real time" within individual men living with and beyond prostate cancer.Methods: Purposeful sub-sample from a larger prospective longitudinal study of prostate cancer survivors, took part in real time data collection using mobile technology. Self-reports were collected for 31 days prompted by an audio alarm 3 times per day (a total of 93 data entries) for each of the 12 case studies. Electronic data were analysed using time series analysis.Results: Majority of response rates were >90%. Men reported a lack of satisfaction with their support over time. Testing the propositions of social support theory "within individuals" over time demonstrated different results for main effect, moderation and mediation pathways that linked coping and social support to emotional outcome. For two men, negative effects of social support were identified. For six men the propositions of social support theory did not hold considering their within-person data.
Conclusion:This innovative study is one of the first, to demonstrate the acceptability of e-health technology in an aging population of men affected by prostate cancer. Collectively, the case series provided mixed support for the propositions of social support theory, and demonstrates that "one size does not fit all".
IntroductionProstate cancer is a major health burden in Europe (Jemal et al., 2011). The disease and its treatments have the potential to cause substantial short-and long-term problems for men affected by prostate cancer (Davis et al., 2014). The delicate nature of treatments mean that men with prostate cancer often face a host of difficulties which can negatively affect Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) (van Tol-Geerdink et al., 2013), including physical and psychological problems (CockleHearne et al., 2013;Ream et al., 2008). Toxicities associated with prostate cancer treatments include: urinary (urgency, frequency, incontinence) (Zelefsky et al., 2008), bowel (rectal bleeding, urgency in defecation, diarrhoea, and faecal leakage) (Fransson et al., 2006) and sexual dysfunction (impotence, loss of libido) (Shikanov et al., 2008). Other physical symptoms associated with therapies include: fatigue, weight gain, osteopenia, anaemia, muscle atrophy, gynaecomastia, and hot flushes, and psychological problems including anxiety, depression and loss of cognitive function (Carter et al., 2011). Due to increasing survival rates (Jemal et al., 2011) the number of men dealing with the aftermath consequences of prostate cancer are set to rise, currently 250,000 men in the UK alone (Prostate Cancer UK, 2014).For many patients and family members, a diagnosis of prostate cancer can lead to many ambiguities, such as...