Insights from a nursing research program on social support

This paper highlights the conceptual and practical implications of a nursing research program that focuses on social support. The diverse dimensions of the construct of social support; its relationship to stress and coping; and its impact on health, health behaviour, and use of health services are explicated in the conceptual framework underpinning the program. These associations will be elucidated by citing examples from eight assessment studies and four intervention studies. The research program yielded new insights and reinforced reported findings of other social-support research.