Not alone: peer support through audio teleconferencing for rural women with breast cancer.
Year: 1998
Type: article
Abstract: The impact of breast cancer on the emotional and social health of women and their families is an important issue. A diagnosis of cancer marks the start of a stressful illness with a long period of medical treatments and side effects, prognostic uncertainty, disfigurement and general disruption of life. Many survivors and health care professionals have identified the need for continuing adequate psychosocial support for long-term adaptation to breast cancer; such support may even affect survival. 1 Nevertheless, only between 1% and 10% of patients with breast cancer participate in group interventions, 2 and evidence suggests that medical, practical and stylistic barriers may account for this underuse. 3 Stylistic barriers consist of attitudes of potential members that are inconsistent with the group’s format (for example, individuals may be too shy to join a formal group) or subject matters that render the meetings boring. For rural communities, practical hurdles often predominate. These include lack of health services, small population and geographic isolation. For many, this leads to a perception of “being alone” on the long road to recovery. Communications and computer-based technologies can overcome some of the obstacles that reduce the use by breast cancer survivors of face-to-face peer-group interventions. 2,4–11
Source: Europe PMC (PubMed Central)
Authors: V R Curran, J G Church
Institution: Memorial University of Newfoundland
Language: English
Topic: Cancer survivorship and care
Subfield: Oncology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2145334744