In a support group, members provide each other with various types of nonprofessional, nonmaterial help for a particular shared burdensome characteristic. The help may take the form of providing relevant information, relating personal experiences, listening to others' experiences, providing sympathetic understanding and establishing social networks. A support group may also provide ancillary support, such as serving as a public relations voice or engaging in advocacy.

Maintaining contact

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Support groups maintain interpersonal contact among their members in a variety of ways. Most groups have traditionally met in person in group sizes that allowed conversational interaction. Support groups also maintain contact through printed newsletters, telephone chains, internet forums, and mailing lists. Some support groups are exclusively Online_support_groups.

Membership in some support groups is formally controlled, with admission requirements and membership fees. Other groups are "open" and allow anyone to drop in at an advertised meeting, for example, or to participate in an online forum.

More on [ Support group ]

Journal of Child Health Care current issue

Children's Nursing Education: Members club or street party?
Randall, D., McTaggart, I. Wed, 20 May 2009 00:00:00 -0000

Creating space: hospital bedside displays as facilitators of communication between children and nurses
Lewis, P., Kerridge, I., Jorden, C. F.C. Wed, 20 May 2009 00:00:00 -0000
Over the past decades there has been a marked change in the physical environment of children's hospitals and the configuration of individual bed spaces. No longer the stark, clinical spaces typical of years gone by, the modern hospital bed space hosts a variety of visual displays reflecting different aspects of the child's life. Building upon ideas introduced by Lewis and informed by a recent qualitative study into hospital bedside displays, this article discusses the role that displays can play in developing, deepening and enriching relationships between nurses, patients and their families in the paediatric hospital environment. It discusses the links between hospital and home, the specific function of the display of photographs and the nurse's role in `knowing' the patient and facilitating links between hospital and home. It concludes that nurses' conscious observations of a visually rich environment may make a positive contribution to the care that they deliver for the benefit of their patients and themselves.
Influences on nurses' scoring of children's post-operative pain
Simons, J., Moseley, L. Wed, 20 May 2009 00:00:00 -0000
There is a lack of clarity as to why some nurses are not delivering optimal pain management to children post-operatively. This retrospective chart review study examined nurses' pain scoring on 175 children during the first 24 hours post-operatively. Data were analysed on the amount of assessments made, assessment scores recorded, as well as the age, gender and type of surgery performed. One-quarter of children had no assessment record of their pain in the first 24 hours post-operatively. When the pain tool was part of an observation chart, nurses recorded more pain scores. Nurses' scoring of children's pain is influenced positively by children under five years of age and those who undergo abdominal surgery. Nurses who had access to one document for recording vital signs as well as pain scores were more likely to assess and record a child's pain score than nurses who had to use a separate chart.

NPR Topics: Children's Health

Are You Over The Acetaminophen Limit?
Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:09:00 -0400
A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel wants to reduce the public's exposure to the potent painkiller.
Congress Woozy With Health Care Sticker Shock
Sun, 21 Jun 2009 10:20:00 -0400
Guest Host Alison Stewart talks with NPR Senior Washington Editor Ron Elving about the upcoming week in Congress, and how it looks like it will be dominated by big numbers — many in red ink. The cost of overhauling the health care system is giving members of Congress sticker shock, and polls show the public is worried about the cost of multiple bailouts.
Going Gluten-Free At Age 13
Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:01:00 -0400
Jacob Rosenblum has celiac disease, an autoimmune condition that keeps his body from processing foods with wheat gluten. Even though he can't eat his peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on wheat bread anymore, or most cereals, his family is finding new ways to cook gluten-free and keep him healthy.

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