'From victim to agent': the clinical and social significance of self-help group participation for people with life-threatening diseases

被引:42
作者
Adamsen, L [1 ]
机构
[1] Univ Copenhagen Hosp, Rigshosp, UCSF, Ctr Nursing & Care Res, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
关键词
self-help groups; qualitative methods; participant experience; third network; clinical and social significance;
D O I
10.1046/j.1471-6712.2002.00060.x
中图分类号
R47 [护理学];
学科分类号
1011 ;
摘要
Aim: The main objective of the paper is to discuss the ways in which self-help groups can be useful to persons with life-threatening diseases like cancer or human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS). The paper offers an outline of the central characteristics of self-help groups, highlighted by the participants themselves. Background: Self-help groups are a growing phenomenon across national borders. New empirical sociological studies show that nurses have become important agents in self-help groups, both within and outside the public healthcare system. However, research on self-help groups is a relatively new area within nursing studies yet it serves an important function in shedding light on a rather unique form of social practice organized and managed partly by the participants themselves. Methods: Qualitative interviews designed to examine how participants evaluate their experiences with self-help groups. The study includes 53 self-help group participants suffering from cancer or HIV/AIDS. Findings: Contact with other people, forming of friendships, new networks and increased self-confidence are some of the effects indicated by the participants. Participation in a self-help group has a positive impact on the patients' ability to cope with the psychological and social consequences of living with a life-threatening disease. Conclusions: It is evident that the positive effects of self-help groups are mainly because of their inherent capacity for universalizing personal problems, which, in itself, legitimizes the scientific relevance of self-help groups. There is no evidence to indicate that self-help groups have a positive influence on the life expectancy of participants who suffer from cancer or HIV/AIDS, but it should be noted that this is not the explicit concern when groups are formed. By their very existence self-help groups indicate the need for a reevaluation of the scope and focus of the individualized care and nursing. The clinical and social significance of self-help group participation has not been sufficiently accounted for.
引用
收藏
页码:224 / 231
页数:8
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