Participant evaluation of teleconference support for African American women with breast cancer.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: African American women with breast cancer face obstacles such as transportation and family obligations when attending standard support groups. Teleconference support circumvents barriers such as transportation to participation, but few evaluations have been reported about teleconference support. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article was to describe the format of a teleconference group and to provide a descriptive account of the participants' feedback about a teleconference group intervention. METHODS: A descriptive design was used. Participants completed the Overall Support Group Evaluation tool at the end of the 10th group session. RESULTS: Teleconference group participants' feedback indicated that they perceived they had gained knowledge about breast cancer and coping. The participants expressed that the group helped them to reach out and ask for support and improved family and work relationships. Also, participants rated the group highly for the presence of therapeutic factors. On a scale of 1 to 4, with 4 being the highest, mean scores ranged from 3.97 to 3.56. CONCLUSIONS: The participants gave high ratings of satisfaction in terms of knowledge gained, leadership style, and benefits. The participants perceived that the group increased their knowledge about cancer, improved family connections, and increased their ability to deal with their cancer. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE Using teleconferencing technology to deliver a support group to African American breast cancer patients is a beneficial method to reach a disadvantaged population that may be unable to attend face-to-face groups.