Background: Social support has been shown to buffer some difficulties of living with advanced cancer. The Palliative Rehabilitation Program (prp) was an interdisciplinary outpatient program offering post-treatment palliative rehabilitation to patients with advanced cancer. Social support was directly integrated into the program. The aim of the present study was to examine the types and sources of social support that patients found most beneficial.
Methods: Twelve patients participated in 30-minute semi-structured interviews. Thematic content analysis was used to explore the social support experiences of those patients in the prp. Patients were eligible to participate in the interview if they had completed the 8-week prp, spoke English, and did not have cognitive or auditory impairments affecting their ability to participate.
Results: The main sources of support reported by participants were team members and spouse, family, or close friends; peers attending the program; and spiritual beliefs. Social support varied based on sex and age, such that, compared with women, men reported relying less on social support, and the supportive needs of younger (≤50 years of age) and older participants differed. Team members were endorsed as frequently as family as social support.
Discussion: Emotional support was endorsed with the greatest frequency. The members of the interdisciplinary care team were also providers of emotional and informational support for patients, bolstering the support received from caregivers. Widowed or divorced women might rely on health care providers more readily than do married men, who chose their wives as support. Future rehabilitation programs might consider the importance of an interdisciplinary team, the formal integration of caregivers, and the incorporation of spirituality to meet the unique supportive needs of patients with advanced cancer.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3747/co.25.4050 | DOI Listing |
JMIR Form Res
January 2025
Private Practice, Ballito, South Africa.
Background: Barriers to mental health assessment and intervention have been well documented within South Africa, in both urban and rural settings. Internationally, evidence has emerged for the effectiveness of technology and, specifically, app-based mental health tools and interventions to help overcome some of these barriers. However, research on digital interventions specific to the South African context and mental health is limited.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Med Internet Res
January 2025
Department High-Tech Business and Entrepreneurship Section, Industrial Engineering and Business Information Systems, University of Twente, Enschede, Overijssel, Netherlands.
Health recommender systems (HRS) have the capability to improve human-centered care and prevention by personalizing content, such as health interventions or health information. HRS, an emerging and developing field, can play a unique role in the digital health field as they can offer relevant recommendations, not only based on what users themselves prefer and may be receptive to, but also using data about wider spheres of influence over human behavior, including peers, families, communities, and societies. We identify and discuss how HRS could play a unique role in decreasing health inequities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Med Internet Res
January 2025
School of Clinical Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.
Background: eHealth interventions can favorably impact health outcomes and encourage health-promoting behaviors in children. More insight is needed from the perspective of children and their families regarding eHealth interventions, including features influencing program effectiveness.
Objective: This review aimed to explore families' experiences with family-focused web-based interventions for improving health.
Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse
January 2025
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
While social support benefits those in treatment for opioid use disorder, it is unclear how social support impacts patient outcomes. This study examines how support person attitudes toward buprenorphine and their communication about substance use are associated with the well-being of patients receiving buprenorphine treatment. We analyzed cross-sectional baseline data from 219 buprenorphine patients (40% female) and their support persons (72% female).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Med Internet Res
January 2025
Department of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering, George Washington University, Washington, DC, United States.
Background: Large language model (LLM) artificial intelligence chatbots using generative language can offer smoking cessation information and advice. However, little is known about the reliability of the information provided to users.
Objective: This study aims to examine whether 3 ChatGPT chatbots-the World Health Organization's Sarah, BeFreeGPT, and BasicGPT-provide reliable information on how to quit smoking.
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