Stress and Survival of Illness: A Study of Disability-Work Groups and Their Effect on Employee Productivity and Weil-Being

This paper explores how nursing therapy in a disability-work group can increase employees' feelings of psychological well-being and productivity, after surviving a serious illness. The theories of survival, stress, loss, and the grief process are applied to the human response to illness, and its effect on self-esteem and productivity. The paper examines how the process of change, involved in the recovery of illness, is facilitated by a structured support group in an occupational health setting. Holistic health concepts and existentialist philosophy along with group dynamics form the basis in developing nursing strategies for intervention. A pilot study is proposed to study the actual cost benefits to American corporations. It is hypothesized that employees will improve with regular participation in a support group compared to non-membership.

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Participating in a support group: experience lived by women with breast cancer

Revista Latino-Americana de Enfermagem ◽

10.1590/s0104-11692008000400013 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 16 (4) ◽

pp. 733-738 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Cleoneide Paulo Oliveira Pinheiro ◽

Raimunda Magalhães da Silva ◽

Marli Villela Mamede ◽

Ana Fátima Carvalho Fernandes

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Breast Carcinoma ◽

Support Groups ◽

Support Group ◽

Well Being ◽

Self Esteem ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

The City ◽

Group Experience ◽

Differentiated Care

The goal of the study was to understand the meaning of support groups in the life of women with breast cancer. It is a qualitative study with 30 mastectomized women who belonged to six support groups in the city of Fortaleza, Ceará. Data were collected with semi-structured interviews, organized and analyzed based on the interactionism concept. The results characterized the support groups as a mechanism to cope with the situation and to overcome the suffering derived from the diagnosis and treatment of the breast carcinoma. The socialization of the experiences facilitated the search for assistance in the support groups, since sharing the problems with mastectomized women was a way to preserve a high self-esteem, have faith and overcome some difficulties. Participating in the group provided well-being and a differentiated care, since it was considered a way to know, accept and understand the disease and its cure, facilitating the socialization of ideas.

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350 - Support group for depressed elderly in the outpatient – challenges in the Asian context

International Psychogeriatrics ◽

10.1017/s1041610220002501 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 32 (S1) ◽

pp. 114-114

Author(s):

Lay Ling Tan ◽

Yong Lock Ong ◽

Joy PP Lim

Keyword(s):

Group Therapy ◽

Group Dynamics ◽

Support Group ◽

Group Treatment ◽

Rating Scales ◽

Well Being ◽

The Elderly ◽

Individual Therapy ◽

Ageing Population ◽

Psychiatric Setting

Introduction:With Singapore’s ageing population, it was anticipated that the increasing number depressed elderly would make recurrent and expensive demands on old age services. There were evidence-based studies that demonstrated the benefits of group therapy in older people with depression, anxiety, low self-esteem and maladaptive behaviour. Aside from being cost effective, group therapy can be more helpful than individual therapy when social support and learning about interpersonal difficulties are objectives of treatment. This paper described the process of setting up and running an outpatient support group for depressed elderly in the psychiatric setting and highlighted the challenges encountered.Methodology:English-speaking subjects > 65 years old with a diagnosis of depressive disorder (ICD-10) with no significant cognitive impairment were recruited. Participants attended a weekly closed group for 12 consecutive weeks with each session lasting 75 minutes. Participants continued with their treatments offered by their psychiatrists. The content of the discussion was determined by the group members. Discussion notes were taken by the facilitators after each session. Depression and well-being rating scales were used to assess depression severity at baseline and at the end of 12 weeks.Results:The response for the study was poor with reluctance to participate in group treatment despite attempts made by the department to encourage participation. 8 participants were eventually enrolled with 3 dropouts. Attendance was disrupted due to sickness, medical appointments, hospitalizations and grandparenting duties. There was a trend of improvement in the evaluation scores of the participants. The main themes identified were (1) ageing and health concerns; (2) reminiscence of the past; (3) regrets and burdens; (4) strategies to defeat depression. Group dynamics observed included universality of painful experiences, mirroring of common experiences during Japanese occupation and strong pairing of the same gender. There were no re-admissions or suicide attempts during the study period.Conclusions:The lack of response to group work amongst the elderly was consistently observed in this study. This contrasted with the popularity of such interventions in non-Asian settings. Further research would help to elucidate the cultural reluctance in sharing psychological problems amongst the elderly within a psychiatric setting.

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Analysis of Self-Concept in Older Adults in Different Contexts

European Journal of Psychological Assessment ◽

10.1027/1015-5759.20.4.262 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 20 (4) ◽

pp. 262-274 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Manuel de Gracia Blanco ◽

Josep Garre Olmo ◽

María Marcó Arbonès ◽

Pilar Monreal Bosch

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Nursing Home ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

External Validity ◽

Aging Process ◽

Well Being ◽

Self Esteem ◽

Self Concept ◽

Self Perceptions ◽

Discriminatory Capacity

Summary: Self-concept is a construct consisting of a group of specific self-perceptions that are hierarchically organized. Age-associated changes of self-concept are related to the individual's perception of the changes occurring throughout the aging process. The authors examined external validity and internal consistency of an instrument that has been developed to assess self-concept in older adults and examined self-concept's characteristics in two different contexts. Results confirm the multidimensionality of the scale and show a satisfactory external validity, indicating good discriminatory capacity. Findings support the hypothesis that older people who live in a nursing home have a poor self-esteem, self-concept, and psychological well-being and have a greater presence of depressive symptoms than people who live in their own home.

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