Hu Amanda
1 Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2017 Apr;156(4):587-588. doi: 10.1177/0194599817697030.
A patient support group is defined as "a group of people with common experiences and concerns who provide emotional and moral support for one another." Support groups fulfill many functions: educating patients/family, sharing the illness experience, providing strength to its members, raising public awareness, and fundraising. Some research has shown an improvement in quality of life of patients with head and neck cancer who have participated in support groups. A wide variety of support groups are available for otolaryngology patients, ranging from head and neck oncology to tinnitus and spasmodic dysphonia. Some support groups are face-to-face, while others use social media and the Internet. Surprisingly, engagement in patient support groups is low-about 10%. Some barriers to accessing support groups are awareness, time constraints, and confrontation of negative aspects of the disease. As otolaryngologists, we can help our patients access support groups so that they can benefit from these resources.
患者支持小组被定义为“一群有着共同经历和关切的人，他们相互提供情感和精神支持”。支持小组发挥着多种功能：教育患者/家属、分享患病经历、为成员提供力量、提高公众意识以及筹集资金。一些研究表明，参加支持小组的头颈癌患者的生活质量有所改善。耳鼻喉科患者可以参加各种各样的支持小组，从头颈肿瘤学到手耳鸣和痉挛性发音障碍。一些支持小组是面对面的，而另一些则使用社交媒体和互联网。令人惊讶的是，参与患者支持小组的比例很低——约为10%。获得支持小组的一些障碍包括认知度、时间限制以及面对疾病的负面方面。作为耳鼻喉科医生，我们可以帮助患者加入支持小组，以便他们能够从这些资源中受益。
