Jackson LeRon C, Hanson Laura C, Hayes Michelle, Green Melissa, Peacock Stacie, Corbie-Smith Giselle
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, USA
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Health Educ Behav. 2014 Dec;41(6):599-604. doi: 10.1177/1090198114529591. Epub 2014 Apr 9.
Active social and spiritual support for persons with cancer and other serious illnesses has been shown to improve psychological adjustment to illness and quality of life.
To evaluate a community-based support team intervention within the African American community using stakeholder interviews.
Support team members were recruited from African American churches, community organizations, and the social network of individuals with serious illness. Support teams provided practical, emotional, and spiritual care for persons with cancer and other serious illness. The intervention was evaluated using semistructured interviews with 47 stakeholders including those with serious illness, support team volunteers, clergy, and medical providers.
Stakeholders report multiple benefits to participation in the support team; themes included provision of emotional and spiritual support, extension of support to patients' family, and support complementary to medical care. Reported barriers to participation were grouped thematically as desiring to maintain a sense of independence and normalcy; limitations of volunteers were also discussed as a barrier to this model of supportive care.
This qualitative evaluation provides initial evidence that a support team intervention helped meet the emotional and spiritual needs of African American persons with cancer or other serious illness. Volunteer support teams merit further study as a way to improve quality of life for persons facing serious illness.
对癌症患者及其他重症患者给予积极的社会和精神支持已被证明有助于改善患者对疾病的心理调适及生活质量。
通过利益相关者访谈评估非裔美国人社区内基于社区的支持团队干预措施。
从非裔美国人教堂、社区组织以及重症患者的社交网络中招募支持团队成员。支持团队为癌症患者及其他重症患者提供实际、情感和精神关怀。通过对47名利益相关者进行半结构化访谈对该干预措施进行评估，这些利益相关者包括重症患者、支持团队志愿者、神职人员和医疗服务提供者。
利益相关者报告称参与支持团队有诸多益处；主题包括提供情感和精神支持、将支持扩展至患者家庭以及作为医疗护理的补充支持。报告的参与障碍按主题分为希望保持独立感和正常感；志愿者的局限性也被讨论为这种支持性护理模式的障碍。
这项定性评估提供了初步证据，表明支持团队干预措施有助于满足非裔美国癌症患者或其他重症患者的情感和精神需求。志愿者支持团队作为改善重症患者生活质量的一种方式值得进一步研究。
