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

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