Family Support Groups Research Articles

Family Support Group to Reduce Loneliness in Caregiver of Mental Health Disorders Patients

Introduction: Caring for patients with mental health disorders causes loneliness in caregivers. Therefore, interventions are needed to reduce the level of loneliness in caregivers of patients with mental health disorders. This literature review study aims to determine the effectiveness of family support groups in reducing loneliness in caregivers of patients with mental health disorders. Methods: This study used the ScienceDirect and Google Scholar databases and were searched using the following keywords family support group AND reduce AND loneliness AND caregiver And Mental Health Disorder in filtered journals published in 2013-2023. Results: Caregivers of mental health patients experience the main psychosocial problem, namely loneliness in the process of caring for patients with mental health disorders. Loneliness in caregivers of patients with mental health disorders is caused by stigma which causes feelings of isolation, disconnection, and lack of social relationships, increased stress, and emotional tension. Family support groups can reduce the level of loneliness in caregivers of patients with mental health disorders. Conclusion: Family group support intervention creates effective coping so that the cognitive control network in processing socio-affective information becomes a reflection. This stimulates the reduction of thoughts and perceptions which have an impact on reducing feelings of loneliness. Keywords: Caregiver, Family Support Group, Loneliness, Mental Health Disorder, Reduce

Engagement With Sports After Solid Organ Transplant.

Introduction Transplant Games lend a unique opportunity not only by providing a platform for donors and recipients to engage in sports but also to counter the negativity surrounding organ donation and showcase to the world that transplant recipients can lead active lives. When the Transplant Games were held in Kochi, Kerala, India, for the first time, it provided a venue to engage with transplant recipients, donors, and the families of deceased donors. We aimed to understand the impact that engagement in sports brings on the lives of donors and recipients. Methods After obtaining permission from the organizers, we explained the objectives of the survey to the participants and encouraged them to participate. A survey, covering basic demographic information, transplantation details, and questions related to sports engagement was formulated. Participants could complete the survey electronically via a quick response code or in hard copy. They were fully informed about the objectives of the survey and had the right to withdraw at any stage without consequences. The survey was available for five hours during the games. The study received institutional ethics committee approval (ECASM-AIMS-2024-059). Results Among the approximate 150 participants, we received 78 respondents (52%). After the nine who withdrew consent were removed, we had a full response from 69 participants. Of these, 59 were males (85.5%), and 10 (14.5%) were females. The average age of the participants was 45 ± 13 years. Self-motivation was the most common factor in taking up sports for 30.4% of the responders, followed by family and friends in 23.2% and transplant doctors in 5.8%. Liver Foundation of Kerala (LIFOK), a self-help group of transplant recipients, played a major role in 4.3% of the responders. Bowling was the most popular sport with 23 mentions, followed by carroms and badminton with 27 and 20 mentions, respectively. Donors started to take an active role in sports earlier than recipients, 3.1 ± 1.89 vs. 5.7 ± 5.5 months. The most common reason cited for taking up sports was to become part of the transplant community, followed by a desire to embrace a healthier lifestyle and improve fitness levels. Although none had a personalized coach, most intensified their training and improved nutrition as part of their preparation for the games. Conclusion Our survey is limited by its small and self-selected sample size. Our study highlights the significant role of self-motivation, family support, and self-help groups in encouraging solid organ transplant recipients and donors to engage in sports after surgery. It also highlights the need for more proactive encouragement from doctors and better availability of sports facilities and support staff to help transplant recipients and donors engage in physical activities, which are crucial for their physical and emotional well-being.

Effect of support group for families of children with esophageal burns on anxiety, coping, and quality of life: quasi-experimental study

Effect of support group for families of children with esophageal burns on anxiety, coping, and quality of life: quasi-experimental study

The Construction of Capital Among Family Members of People in Prison

Abstract Researchers have documented the harms of imprisonment on family life, but much less is known about how family members seek support to cope with the challenges of familial imprisonment. In this article, I draw on 8 months of ethnographic observations of a virtual family support group and in-depth interviews with 27 family members of people in prison to explore participants’ need for, and construction of, communities of support. Drawing on Bourdieu’s concepts of social and cultural capital, I reveal how family members cultivated and leveraged networks of support to develop the social connections, knowledge, skills and resources needed to cope with familial imprisonment. I argue, however, that the persistence of participants’ struggles underscores the intractable nature of the inequality produced by familial imprisonment.

The Role of the Community in Preventing Stunting Through the Bintan Regency DP3KB Family Assistance Team (TPK) Program

Stunting is a chronic nutritional problem characterized by a child's height being below the expected standard for their age. Stunting can have negative impacts on children's physical and mental development. This community service aims to increase the role of the community in preventing stunting through the Family Support Group (TPK) program of the Bintan DP3KB. The results of this community service activity show that the active role of the community in preventing stunting is essential. Through an approach that includes socialization, direct support, skill development, and continuous monitoring, the community can be better educated and more actively involved in ensuring adequate nutrition for healthy living and optimal child development.

Support group or transgender lobby? Representing Mermaids in the British press

ABSTRACT This article examines representations of Mermaids, a charity that supports trans young people and their families, in the British press. Using corpus-assisted critical discourse analysis, we identify and chart patterns in reporting between Mermaids’ inception as a charity in 2015, and 2022, a turbulent year for both the charity and trans people in the UK more generally. The findings show that, in the early years, there is relatively little attention to Mermaids in the press. Where they are mentioned, the charity is represented as a useful source of advice and support, and their service users as happy and united. However, 2018 represents a turning point, with increasingly negative and misleading portrayals of Mermaids coinciding with a rise in public interest and funding. By 2019, media interest in the charity has surged and the impression of Mermaids as a support group for families is supplanted by the image of a powerful, dangerous and controversial organisation. We argue that the increasingly excessive, negative and polarised reporting around Mermaids is a strategy for indirectly delegitimising and attacking the lives of trans young people themselves. In a burgeoning culture war, Mermaids is used as a weapon against the very people they seek to support.

The Relationship between Public Mental Health Policy and the Practice of Community Psychology through Family Support Groups

This article will examine the relationship between public mental health policy and the practice of community psychology through the lens of family support groups (FSGs). Government policy promotes community psychology, but the implementation thereof is lacking and gives way to approaches that deny the involvement of communities and families as equal owners in the psychotherapeutic process. However, the psychiatric system expects families to act as the ‘primary carers’ or ‘case managers.’ Family involvement is cited as invaluable to the overall success of recovery and, therefore, represents an opportunity for self-critique within the psychiatric system in its orientation towards partnering with families. In this context, FSGs were initiated within the adult male and adolescent inpatient units in the Western Cape at Lentegeur Hospital (LGH). This article promotes FSGs as central to psychotherapeutic interventions and offers an empirical grounding for an inclusive approach to family support. This practice of inclusivity is underpinned by a community psychology ethos and is based on the analysis of 24 FSG sessions involving 446 family members between July 2013 and November 2015.

Is There Any Reason to Stay in Human Genetic Societies as Cytogeneticists?

In this paper, I express my concerns that for about a decade, Human Genetic societies have ceased to represent the full field. Specifically, clinical and scientific data provided by (molecular) cytogenetics are practically ignored and not considered as topics that need attention at congresses, in professional politics, or in the education of young scientists or MDs. Simultaneously, Human Genetic society meetings have lost family support groups as regular participants. This trend suggests that the field, by focusing solely on high-quality research and diagnostics in the narrow field of gene mutations, may have chosen the wrong direction. I provide a draft letter in English, which may serve as an urgent distress signal to national and European societies of Human Genetics. They are urgently requested to reconsider their politics and to again consider chromosomes, banding cytogenetics, and molecular cytogenetics as topics worth presenting at meetings and educating young scientists about. Otherwise, Human Genetic societies may fade and disappear, as has already happened, for example, in Australia, where the field is now represented by Pathology.

B - 23 The Effects of Family Functioning on Medication Adherence in Pediatric Cancer Patients.

Despite life-threatening consequences of pediatric cancer, treatment non-adherence rates range from 10-75%. Given the neurocognitive effects of chemotherapy it is important to study medication adherence to prevent disease relapse. The current study examined potential predictors of medication adherence among pediatric cancer patients. Survey data was collected from 104 parents of pediatric cancer patients through online and social media portals, family support groups, pediatric cancer websites, and foundations. Informed by the McMaster Model of Family Functioning, it was hypothesized that poor medication adherence would be predicted by multiple factors using multiple regression analysis. Results indicated poor communication (p = 0.049), behavioral control (p < 0.001), and affective responsiveness (p = 0.005) are predictors of poor medication adherence. Poor problem solving (p = 0.016) and higher degree of effort (p < 0.001) predict higher medication adherence. Post-hoc analysis indicated that when controlling for problem solving, child's sex had a significant effect on medication adherence. There was a significant effect of time since diagnosis on medication adherence after controlling for the effect of problem solving, communication, behavior control, and condition management effort. There was a significant effect of family's income on medication adherence after controlling for the effect of problem solving, communication, affective responsiveness, and condition management effort. In the current study, several predictors of adherence were identified. This knowledge helps medical and psychological professionals to work collaboratively to promote adherence. Future research is needed to further understand multicultural factors that may predict poor adherence and how specific pediatric cancer diagnoses impact family functioning.

“I Had Nowhere to Go”: Disenfranchised Grief and Support Groups for Families of Incarcerated Individuals

“I Had Nowhere to Go”: Disenfranchised Grief and Support Groups for Families of Incarcerated Individuals

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FAMILY SUPPORT AND PEER GROUP WITH SELF-CARE AMONG HEMODIALYSIS PATIENTS IN RSI JEMURSARI SURABAYA

Background: Patients who are undergoing hemodialysis must be able to take care of themselves, but the fact is that these patients often do not pay attention to what must be controlled and treated so that hemodialysis patients need support from their families and peer groups. Objective: The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between family and peer group support with self-care in hemodialysis patients at RSI Jemursari in Surabaya. Methods: This study used a quantitative design with correlation analytics with a cross sectional approach. The study population was all patients who were undergoing hemodialysis as many as 150 respondents. The sample obtained 109 respondents using simple random sampling. This independent variable is family support and peer group, the dependent variable is self-care. Data collection using a questionnaire was analyzed using the Spearman Rank test. Result: Based on the results of the study of 109 respondents, almost all (78%) received good family support, almost all (91.7%) received good peer group support and most (71.6%) had high self-care. Based on the results of the Spearman rank test, the value of p = 0.000 was obtained, which means that there is a relationship between family and peer group support with self-care in hemodialysis patients. Conclusion: The conclusion of this study, the higher the family and peer group support, the self-care in hemodialysis patients will also increase. Families and peer groups are expected to continue to provide support to individuals, thereby assisting individuals in maintaining self-care.

Beyond the institution versus home care dichotomy: Lessons from a feeding‐tube medical home

AbstractDecades of rights‐based advocacy for people with disabilities have transitioned long‐term care in the United States from institutional settings to home‐based care provided by interdependent care networks. This paper argues that policies and practices within these home‐based care systems unintentionally produce and often perpetuate unrecognized structural violence on the recipients of care and the caregivers. Understanding the caregivers' experiences through a case study of a Facebook feeding tube family support group exposes the geographic realities and ableist underpinnings of the home‐based care model that undergird this violence. Further, I illustrate the contradictions of “home is best” ideology by focusing on three interwoven themes: structural dependency on unpaid mother‐experts, spatio‐temporal erasure through decentralization, and invasive surveillance structures. This research attends to how home‐based care, as a practice and a place, reflects broader patriarchal, gendered, and neoliberal concepts of autonomy and individual rights as expressed through policies like “person‐centered” care and the medical home model. While this analysis has theoretical, methodological, and policy implications, more important is the contextualization of family experiences that sometimes impacts life and death.

The social construction of aging through participation in social work with senes of the Sesc – CE

Introduction: The elderly have a perception of aging related to the choices made throughout life, also considering financial resources, family support, social network, and elderly groups. Objective: To analyze the perception of aging of participants in social work with elderly people from the Social Service of Commerce (Sesc) in Ceará. Method: This is a descriptive study with a qualitative approach. For data collection, the conversation wheel technique was used, with the participation of 126 elderly people - 110 women (87%) and 16 men (13%) -, aged between 60 and 102 years (73.69 ± 7.12 ). The narratives were analyzed using the Content Analysis Method and the categories of aging, activities, and coexistence were identified. Results: It was observed that aging is the result of the history of these elderly people and a natural stage of life, while the activities are a starting point for the feeling of renewal of life as opposed to accommodation, and coexistence was the positive element to establish a relationship intimate with an exchange of voluntary affections of friendships through the interaction provided by the open space and the exchange of knowledge. Final considerations: The study presented narratives that encourage empowerment and the ability of the elderly to see themselves as active in society.

Parents’ experience of children with acquired brain injury undergoing neuro-rehabilitation: thematic synthesis protocol

IntroductionChildren with moderate to severe acquired brain injury frequently require a period of demanding medical and rehabilitative care to optimise their long-term capabilities and quality of life. Usually, the initial...

Interventions to Reduce the Role Strain of Informal Adult Caregivers of Individuals With Neurocognitive and Mental Disorders

AbstractBackgroundThe value of the unpaid labor performed by caregivers is estimated to be at least $306 billion annually, nearly double the combined costs of home health care ($43 billion) and nursing home care ($115 billion). However, studies show caregivers are at risk of developing high levels of physical, emotional, and mental strain, which can negatively impact their role, quality of life, and increase medical costs.PurposeThe project aims to determine if giving informal caregivers non-pharmacological interventions such as self-guided bibliotherapy, stress reduction interventions, and improving health literacy will reduce the role strain of informal adult caregivers and improve their quality of life.MethodThis project employed a mix-method design focusing on the role strain and quality of life of relatives and friends assisting individuals with neurocognitive or mental health disorders. The subjects engaged in weekly self-guided activities for 8 weeks, and responded to survey questions regarding demographics, depression, anxiety, and stress levels. Personal health information (PHI) was not obtained. The subjects were required to answer qualifying questions. A $5 Amazon gift card was given to participants who completed the project.ResultsSeven people enrolled in the project, but only four participated. All participants were female. Two were African Americans, one Caucasian, and one Hispanic. All four participants completed the pre-test, demographic surveys, and intervention. However, only two completed the post-test survey. One participant completed the pre-test and post-test on the same day at the end of the project.Descriptive statistics were employed for the data analysis due to the small sample size. A non-parametric 2-independent sample test was used because of the small sample size. The test did not show any statistical significance between the variables in the pre-and post-test DASS-21 after the intervention. Subjects reported the project intervention was “helpful.” Another participant said she could not fully engage in the interventions because of family obligations. Still, she enjoyed the resources, such as the weekly NAMI family support group meetings given by the SI. The pre-test DASS-21 mean score for N=3 was 26 and standard deviation was 15.62.DiscussionThe current COVID-19 has led to an increase in mental health issues. Because of the overwhelming increase in mental health cases, many individuals with mental health problems are being turned away. The decrease in the availability of mental health providers has led to an increased need for informal caregivers. However, studies show stress from caregiving can negatively affect the health of caregivers and result in loss of work productivity. However, specialized support for caregivers is frequently limited. Brown et al. (2016) said nonpharmacological self-help interventions such as bibliotherapy, stress-reduction techniques, and health literacy training could improve caregivers’ health. Therefore, lawmakers and healthcare professionals need to come up with interventions to help caregivers.FundingNo Funding

Family Support to Improve Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) in the Informal Sector

Introduction: Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) for formal sector workers is held along with regulations, joint commitments, training, and continuous monitoring. This condition cannot be applied for informal sector, so it approaches that can be performed such as activating social support from workers’ environment. This study aimed to determine for social support to improve the knowledge, attitude and practice of OHS workers in informal sector. Methods: This study a quasi-experimental with pre-posttest and control group design. Subjects were 90 limestone workers taken by Multistage Sampling from Gunungkidul Regency, Indonesia. Subjects were divided into health promotion by family support and peer support (FS&amp;PS), peer support (PS), family support (FS), and control (C) group with treatment period of one month. Variables were measured using a knowledge, attitude, and practice questionnaire. The obtained data then analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis test and Mann-Whitney test. Results: There was a significant difference (p&lt;0.001) in the knowledge, attitude and practice of OHS in limestone workers. FS&amp;PS group gave the highest score for knowledge variable. There was no significant differences between OHS attitude between FS&amp;PS and FS only (p=0.787). The biggest influence of attitude changes was from the FS group. The OHS practice has no significant differences between PS and C group (p=0.696), while other groups have significant differences. Conclusion: The biggest influence of changes in OHS practice was in the FS group. The combination of FS&amp;PS is more effective in increasing knowledge, while attitude and practice are more effective if involving FS.

Research group as helpers due to the war in Ukraine: Focus group experiences of women researchers.

World Health Organization studies have shown that one in every five people who have experienced war or other conflicts suffers from a mental health disorder, the most vulnerable groups being children and women. According to international guidelines, mental health care should be made available immediately in the event of disaster. With the first influx of Ukrainian refugees to Hungary at the outbreak of the war, the Research Group of Childhood Mental Health at Eötvös Loránd University and Semmelweis University in Budapest immediately decided to help by transforming itself into a support group for refugee families. The members of the support group are all women. The aim of the present study is to explore the motivation behind the transformation of the research group and the help it provided. A further aim was to compare the group's experiences with descriptions in the literature of impacts on helpers who work with refugees. The current paper reflects on the transformation from researchers to helpers and the effects of that transformation at group and individual level using the focus group method and consensual text analysis. The transformation of the support group necessitated the involvement of students, whose experiences are also examined. We identified five main categories: context; the help recipients' perspective; the personal level; the professional level; and the level between the personal and professional. The analysis revealed the way in which the voluntary helping developed, the resulting difficulties, and coping options. Volunteering among Ukrainian refugees has both positive and negative psychological consequences. While stress and trauma threaten the psychological well-being of the helpers, positive aspects, such as flexibility and professional development, are also reported. Due to the strong motivation among group members and their experience in practical work, the all female research group was quickly able to transform itself into a support group.

“I really wanna put eyes on these guys”: Caregiving in prisons, pandemic, and protest

AbstractIn this article we use our collaborative work with a support group for families of incarcerated people in upstate New York—including participant observation, interviews and focus groups from 2019‐2020—to highlight how COVID‐19 exacerbated challenges they already faced in caring for kin across walls. We focus specifically during the summer of 2020 when New York state prison visitation was closed to prevent the spread of COVID, showing how families struggled to stay connected and also organized to fight the carceral system. We suggest that through these acts of resistance and care, people on the outside caring for incarcerated kin during the pandemic can be understood as what Joy James calls the “captive maternal.” Understanding these women as “captive maternals” within a system structured by racial capitalism renders explicit the way the logics of captivity extend beyond the walls of prisons and jails to shape the experiences of their kin on the outside. It reveals these women to be not simply compassionate individuals caring for people they love, but rather as resistors fighting through their acts of care the logics of abandonment, disposability, and anti‐blackness on which contemporary American society is built, and which people nationwide were protesting.

Stress and coping strategies among parents of children with cancer at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital paediatric oncology unit, Ethiopia: a phenomenological study

ObjectiveThis study explores sources of stress, conditions that help reduce stress levels and coping strategies among parents of children with cancer receiving chemotherapy at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital (TASH) in...

Sustaining relational subjectivity: The experience of women with dementia.

The experience of dementia can only be understood adequately if the influence of gender is fully recognised. Research accounts have, however, tended to portray dementia in gender-neutral terms. This qualitative research study aims to redress this imbalance by investigating the gendered experience of women with dementia. The research addressed women's negotiation of relationships with spousal partners, other family members, professionals, support groups and services. The study included 10 mixed-sex spousal couples in which the woman had been diagnosed with dementia. Women took part in semi-structured joint interviews alongside their partners. This research focuses on the responses provided by the women with dementia within these interviews. Four principal themes were identified within the data: upholding gendered subjectivities; the broader relational context; closer networks; and gendered care relationships. These themes elucidate the challenges women face in sustaining relational subjectivity via the spousal relationship and wider social associations while also dealing with the cognitive impacts of dementia. The article concludes by highlighting that a more nuanced social scientific perspective on dementia is required that acknowledges the complexity of gendered experience. This can assist policymakers and practitioners to tailor support to meet the requirements of women with dementia.