Self-Help Connection

Research on Self-Help

Self-Help Research Opportunities

Self-help groups are an important component of the continuum of health care because of low cost, ease of accessibility and effectiveness in helping members. They are cost effective because they reduce cost and waste in the health care system; inform members how to effectively access services; decrease need for hospitalization and long-term care; speed recovery; encourage behaviourial changes that reduce demands for services; promote wellness; prevent further development of problems; and ease demands on professional's time or eliminate the need to consult them.

The American Medical Association (AMA) clearly demonstrates its belief in the value of self-help/mutual aid. AMA fosters groups in its own workplace, promotes programs and open meetings at its national conferences, and includes self-help/mutual aid references in its policies, guidelines and publications. The Canadian Medical Association and the Ontario Medical Association have also endorsed self-help as a powerful complement to professional health services because they are cost-effective and enhance skills that enable individuals to enjoy a greater quality of life.

Participation in a self-help group has many benefits in terms of improving the knowledge, skills and resources of self-helpers:

• It empowers people
• It costs less than other "helping" services
• It increases social supports
• It increases life span for self-helpers
• It has a unique problem solving approach
• It often increases self-esteem
• It increases motivation through group intervention
• It helps to relieve anxiety of the unknown through learning
• It is a good source of information
• It brings a sense of unity and strength
• It enables members to access new information faster because of the combined efforts of the group
• It may offer an alternative resource to existing health services

There is a burgeoning body of literature on the positive effects of self-help on health status and quality of life. This list of studies is not an exhaustive review of the literature. The list does highlight a variety of different studies by professionals from diverse disciplines that are interested in examining the health and cost impact of self-help. It includes research which involved comparisons of self-help groups with "no treatment" or "control groups", as well as studies which simply involved self-reported benefits. Only studies reporting positive results are included.

As Medvene has noted, research on the effectiveness of participation in self-help groups which is methodologically rigorous is still relatively rare.

The list of studies comes from three sources:

1. A list of selected highlights of research effectiveness of self-help groups compiled by Louis J. Medvene, Ph.D., for the California Self-Help Centre
2. A paper by Gartner and Riessman on the deliberations of the Committee on Self-Help and Health Reform, which met in New York City, New York, April 2, 1993, and published by the National Self-Help Clearinghouse
3. A list of studies collected by the Self-Help Connection to show the benefits of self-help

The studies are clustered under issue areas, e.g., cancer, cost effectiveness, mental health and so on. The full references are included at the end. A list of issue areas covered in this PDF are:

• Airway Obstructions (Emphysema, Chronic Bronchitis, Asthma)
• Bereavement
• Cancer
• Caregivers
• Cost-Effectiveness
• Diabetes
• Empowerment
• Health Status
• Heart Disease
• Mental Health
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Ostomy
• Parenting
• Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Skin Ulcers
• Smoking
• Social Support
• Widows

Download a copy of this document in PDF format.

Pilot Study on Self-Help Groups in Greater Halifax Region

This is a honour thesis study, by Shaylyn Streatch entitled, "Assessing Family Physicians' Awareness of, Attitudes about, and Informal Referral Practices to Self-Help Groups."

Download the results of the study in PDF format.

Self-Help Research Opportunities

1 The CATHI Pilot Study

IS YOUR CHILD 4-12 YEARS OLD?

Do you find that your child:

* Is ACTIVE or ON-THE-GO a lot?
* Cannot SIT STILL or FOCUS?
* Has temper TANTRUMS or unprovoked OUTBURTS?
* Is HARD TO MANAGE at home/daycare/school?

If so, researchers at the IWK Health Centre have an interesting research
study designed to help parents learn ways to deal with challenging
behaviour. You will be reimbursed for your time to participate in this
study.

If you are interested in participating in this research study or you would
like further information, please contact Meredith Whitney, Research Project
Administrator by telephone: 902-470-6387 or by email:
Meredith.Whitney@iwk.nshealth.ca.

Also attached is the Information and Consent Form. This gives detailed
information about the study. Download the report in PDF format

Research Study Regarding Recurrent Headaches and Cell Phone Used for the Internet

My name is Michelle Tougas and I am a research assistant working at the IWK Health Centre in the Centre for Research in Family Health. We are currently recruiting participants for our study under the supervision of Dr. Patrick McGrath for individuals between the ages of 14 – 28, who suffer from recurrent headaches and have a cell phone that they use internet on. We are planning on conducting focus groups to learn from individuals with recurrent headaches their opinions, needs and concerns associated with recurrent headache episodes and methods they use to help them get through a headache. We will use this information to guide the development of a wireless headache intervention for adolescents and young adults provided entirely over a mobile phone.

Download the poster in PDF format

Download the brochure in PDF format

About The PDF Format

This document is in PDF format. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view/print this PDF file. If you do not have it on your computer already, you may download the newest version of this program for free from the Adobe web site. If you are a blind or visually impaired user, Adobe provides PDF conversion tools that may be of interest to you. If you require any further information on this tool or have questions about how to use it, please refer to Adobe's conversion FAQ. If you have any problems opening or printing this document, please contact us.