Improved Patient Support through Support Group Webcasting: A Feasibility Assessment

Emotional stress resulting from chronic illness can be ameliorated by participation in a support group. Among mechanisms for implementing a support group, the in-person, moderated support group meeting remains the "gold standard" but can be medically and/or logistically challenging for many potential participants to attend. Taking care to address confidentiality concerns, we have developed a prototype of a web-based method for remote participants to attend in-person support group meetings. Using commonly available personal computing technology, authorized remote participants gain a realtime, audiovisual connection to the support group meeting, and on-site participants can receive and discuss textual comments from remote participants submitted to, and selected for discussion by, the group moderator. We are studying the feasibility of this method with some of our local support groups, with plans for efficacy studies to follow. Early use with one group has yielded encouraging results.

[1]  C. B. Taylor,et al.  Evaluation of an internet support group for women with primary breast cancer , 2003, Cancer.

[2]  Wayne Gordon,et al.  Peer Support in the Community: Initial Findings of a Mentoring Program for Individuals with Traumatic Brain Injury and Their Families , 2002, The Journal of head trauma rehabilitation.

[3]  A. H. Smith,et al.  THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF THE MEDICAL SCIENCES , 1898 .

[4]  Eric C. Newburger,et al.  Home computers and Internet use in the United States, August 2000 , 2001 .

[5]  Lawrence B. Afrin,et al.  Challenges in Using an Enterprise Clinical Data Repository for Research , 2001, AMIA.

[6]  Lawrence B. Afrin,et al.  Web-Based Clinical Trials Information for Patients: An Accrual Aid? , 1997, AMIA.

[7]  M. White,et al.  Receiving social support online: implications for health education. , 2001, Health education research.

[8]  Lawrence B. Afrin,et al.  PalMER: PalmOS-based Access to the Enterprise Clinical Data Repository and Clinical Documentation Assistant , 2001, AMIA.

[9]  Lawrence B. Afrin,et al.  Support Group Webcasting: A Feasibility Assessment , 2005, AMIA.

[10]  Lawrence B. Afrin,et al.  Integration of Enterprise Ambulatory Appointment Scheduling with Personal Digital Assistant Calendaring , 2001, AMIA.

[11]  P. Rust,et al.  The Effect of Physician Personality on Laboratory Test Ordering for Hypertensive Patients , 1988, Medical care.

[12]  Hae-Ra Han,et al.  Computer-mediated support group use among parents of children with cancer--an exploratory study. , 2001, Computers in nursing.

[13]  M. Willingham,et al.  Expression of ricin B chain in Spodoptera frugiperda. , 1994, Biochemical Journal.

[14]  L. Afrin,et al.  Medical therapy of prostate cancer. , 1994, Journal of the South Carolina Medical Association (1975).

[15]  Sami Shaban,et al.  How Useful is the Web for Clinical Trial Accrual? Three Years of Experience with ACT! , 2000, AMIA.

[16]  Lawrence B. Afrin.  A Better Blue Book: A Web-based Residency Procedure Log System , 2000, AMIA.

[17]  Y. Benyamini,et al.  Living with the worry of cancer: health perceptions and behaviors of elderly people with self, vicarious, or no history of cancer , 2003, Psycho-oncology.

[18]  L. Afrin,et al.  Fentanyl‐Associated Syndrome of Inappropriate Antidiuretic Hormone Secretion , 2002, Pharmacotherapy.

[19]  Lawrence B. Afrin,et al.  Delivering Data Mining Without the Warehouse: MUSC's Experience , 2002, AMIA.

[20]  Lawrence B. Afrin,et al.  Feasibility of Direct Patient Use of PDA-based Surveys , 2001, AMIA.

[21]  M. Willingham,et al.  Expression of oligohistidine-tagged ricin B chain in Spodoptera frugiperda. , 1994, Bioconjugate chemistry.

[22]  W. Baile,et al.  Psychosocial and demographic predictors of quality of life in a large sample of cancer patients , 2003, Psycho-oncology.

[23]  Lawrence B. Afrin.  Improved Access to Hematopathology Teaching Images , 1998, AMIA.

[24]  R. Winn,et al.  The role of informal and formal social support networks for patients with cancer. , 1997, Cancer practice.

[25]  Lawrence B. Afrin.  Tracking Residents' Conference Attendance: A Reliable Solution at Last? , 2002, AMIA.