Self-help friendliness in cancer care: A cross-sectional study among self-help group leaders in Germany.

Content Provider	Europe PMC
Author	Ziegler, Elâ Nickel, Stefan Trojan, Alf Klein, Jens Kofahl, Christopher
Abstract	BackgroundPeer support is increasingly recognized as crucial for improving health and psychosocial outcomes in oncological care. The integration of cancer self‐help groups (SHGs) into cancer care facilities has gained importance in recent years. Yet, there is a lack of knowledge of the extent and quality of cooperation between cancer care facilities and SHGs and their integration into routine care. The concept of self‐help friendliness (SHF) provides a feasible instrument for the measurement of cooperation and integration.MethodsA cross‐sectional study across Germany investigates the experiences of 266 leaders of cancer SHGs concerning their cooperation with cancer care facilities based on the criteria for SHF. The participatory study was developed and conducted with representatives of the House of Cancer Self‐Help and the federal associations of cancer self‐help.ResultsAccording to the SHG leaders, about 80% of their members primarily find their way to an SHG via other patients and only less than 50% more or less frequently via hospitals or rehabilitation clinics. The quality of cooperation with cancer centres, hospitals and rehabilitation clinics, however, is rated as good to very good by more than 70% of the respondents. Nine out of 10 quality criteria for SHF are fully or at least partially implemented, the values vary between 53% and 87%. Overall, 58% of the SHG leaders feel well to be very well integrated into care facilities.ConclusionsThe results show a positive assessment of the involvement of SHGs in oncological care, but differences between inpatient and outpatient care and low referrals to SHGs are prominent. The concept of SHF is a feasible solution for a systematic and measurable involvement of SHGs.Patient or Public ContributionThe perspectives and insight of patient representatives obtained through qualitative interviews were directly incorporated into this study. Representatives of cancer self‐help organizations were involved in the development of the questionnaire, reviewed it for content and comprehensibility, and further helped to recruit participants.
Page Count	12
ISSN	13696513
Journal	Health Expectations : An International Journal of Public Participation in Health Care and Health Policy
Volume Number	25
PubMed Central reference number	PMC9700191
Issue Number	6
PubMed reference number	36129136
e-ISSN	13697625
DOI	10.1111/hex.13608
Language	English
Publisher	John Wiley and Sons Inc.
Publisher Date	2022-09-21
Publisher Place	Hoboken
Access Restriction	Open
Rights License	This is an open access article under the terms of the http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2022 The Authors. Health Expectations published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Subject Keyword	cancer care cooperation patient involvement patient participation peer support quality management self‐help friendliness
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health