Online support groups offer low-threshold backing for family and friends of patients with prostate cancer.
Eur J Cancer Care (Engl)
; 28(2): e12982, 2019 Mar.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-30569592
ABSTRACT
A prostate cancer diagnosis affects not only the patients but also their family and friends. We performed a secondary analysis of a survey of users of the largest German online support group (OSG) for prostate cancer. We collected socio-demographic, psychological and disease-related data over a three-month period in 2013. Among 769 participants with a complete questionnaire, 686 were patients, and 83 were family members and friends of other patients. The family and friends group comprised 33% spouses, 31% children and 36% people with other relationships to the patient ("others"). Compared to the patient group, the family and friends group showed higher scores for anxiety and depression and described a higher rate of metastatic disease in the patients with whom they had a relationship. The children of patients showed the highest psychological burden based on their scores for anxiety and depression. Only 7% of spouses and none of the children attended face-to-face support groups, compared to 70% of people in the "others" group. OSGs offer low-threshold support for family members and friends; specifically, they meet the needs of spouses and children who do not attend face-to-face support groups. To improve counselling efforts, physicians should be aware of this online resource.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Neoplasias da Próstata
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Grupos de Autoajuda
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Apoio Social
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Família
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Amigos
Tipo de estudo:
Observational_studies
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Prevalence_studies
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Qualitative_research
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Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Adolescent
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Adult
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Aged
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Female
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Humans
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Male
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Middle aged
País/Região como assunto:
Europa
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2019
Tipo de documento:
Article