Exploring and encouraging through social interaction: a qualitative study of nurses' participation in self-help groups for cancer patients

TY - JOUR

T1 - Exploring and encouraging through social interaction

T2 - a qualitative study of nurses' participation in self-help groups for cancer patients

AU - Adamsen, Lis

AU - Rasmussen, Julie Midtgaard

PY - 2003/2

Y1 - 2003/2

N2 - Self-help groups are a growing phenomenon across national borders. Current sociologic empirical evidence shows that nurses and other healthcare professionals have become an integral part of self-help groups. The aim of the study is to describe and highlight the experiences of patients with cancer (n = 21) and oncology nurses (n = 12) with self-help groups. These experiences are drawn on to illustrate the characteristics of professional involvement in self-help groups for patients with cancer. Data were obtained by individual qualitative interviews. The results show that the nurse functions as a social networker and uses her contextual competence by consciously encouraging relationships between fellow patients. Furthermore, the study illustrates that the nurse's involvement with self-help groups for patients with cancer serves as a complementary dimension to the traditional nursing discourse. It is concluded that when individualized care is supported through social practice and when personal issues are exchanged and negotiated, the nurse facilitates a milieu of togetherness in self-help groups for patients with cancer. The concept of self-help groups is a valuable contribution to new theories and service development in psychosocial care and complies with the understanding of the postmodern individual, who viewed as primarily responsible for negotiating, socializing, and making his or her own decisions.

AB - Self-help groups are a growing phenomenon across national borders. Current sociologic empirical evidence shows that nurses and other healthcare professionals have become an integral part of self-help groups. The aim of the study is to describe and highlight the experiences of patients with cancer (n = 21) and oncology nurses (n = 12) with self-help groups. These experiences are drawn on to illustrate the characteristics of professional involvement in self-help groups for patients with cancer. Data were obtained by individual qualitative interviews. The results show that the nurse functions as a social networker and uses her contextual competence by consciously encouraging relationships between fellow patients. Furthermore, the study illustrates that the nurse's involvement with self-help groups for patients with cancer serves as a complementary dimension to the traditional nursing discourse. It is concluded that when individualized care is supported through social practice and when personal issues are exchanged and negotiated, the nurse facilitates a milieu of togetherness in self-help groups for patients with cancer. The concept of self-help groups is a valuable contribution to new theories and service development in psychosocial care and complies with the understanding of the postmodern individual, who viewed as primarily responsible for negotiating, socializing, and making his or her own decisions.

KW - Adult

KW - Aged

KW - Attitude of Health Personnel

KW - Attitude to Health

KW - Community Networks

KW - Denmark

KW - Female

KW - Hospitals, University

KW - Humans

KW - Male

KW - Middle Aged

KW - Neoplasms

KW - Nurse's Role

KW - Nurse-Patient Relations

KW - Nursing Evaluation Research

KW - Nursing Methodology Research

KW - Nursing Staff, Hospital

KW - Oncology Nursing

KW - Prospective Studies

KW - Qualitative Research

KW - Self-Help Groups

KW - Social Support

KW - Surveys and Questionnaires

KW - Evaluation Studies

KW - Journal Article

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 12556710

SN - 0162-220X

VL - 26

SP - 28

EP - 36

JO - Cancer Nursing

JF - Cancer Nursing

IS - 1

ER -