Cancer support groups – who joins and why?

Cancer support group participation in the United Kingdom: a national survey

“…Previous studies in the UK [14,15,18] indicated that participants of support groups are typically female, white, with high education and socioeconomic status. Research from other countries such as the USA [12,13,32], Canada [10] and Australia [33] have produced similar findings.…”

“…Two studies of members of a cancer support organisation in Scotland suggested that the participants were primarily married, middle class, female, aged 50-65 and long-term survivors with good quality of life. Mixed reports of satisfaction were provided by participants [14,15]. In a survey of 431 cancer patients in London, 284 (66%) had experience of peer support.…”

Educational Support Programme for Gynaecological Cancer Patients and Their Families

“…Education and knowledge might constitute a considerable psychological support in a period of crisis and uncertainty. Another important function is to exchange experiences with other patients in similar situations and this constitutes an important part of the aims associated with support groups (11,12). Education 33 3 18 12 72 Secondary school 28 0 5 20 Upper secondary school 10 39 4 2 14 8 University degree Cancer type 8 4 3 1 1 Cervical cancer 42 7 19 Endometrial cancer 15 42 13 15 52 Ovarian cancer 8 1 4 Other 3 * Owing to occasional missing data in the questionnaires, the sum of the subgroups, might be lower than the corresponding total number of individuals.…”

Rôle de l’identité sexuée et de l’influence du genre pour l’analyse de l’expérience des soins de support en oncologie

“…Ces résultats font écho à ceux qui sont observés par ailleurs et qui montrent une moindre participation des hommes aux soins psychosociaux de support [14,30,53] ou aux groupes de parole [6]. En effet, les hommes sont plus réticents et refusent plus fréquemment ce type d'interventions [38].…”