• Journal of muscle and joint health
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2014

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to identify the attributes of self-help groups, their antecedents and consequences relating to self-help groups. Methods: We used the Walker and Avant (2010) method using the key word "self-help groups" the Korea Education and Research Information Service (www.riss4u.net), Pubmed, CINAHL and ProQuest for articles on this topic published between January 2000 and March 2013 were searched. Ultimately, 64 domestic and 21 foreign papers were selected for in-depth analysis. Results: The attributes of self-help groups are as follows: 1) members share common experiences and are supportive of each other; 2) members set goals for individual change; 3) groups are self-monitoring; 4) groups learn problem-solving processes through voluntary and active participation; and 5) groups are small and meet regularly. The antecedents of self-help groups are as follows: 1) an intervention by an expert; 2) a diagnosis of their illness; 3) motivation to change individuals' state; and 4) educational desire. The consequences of self-help groups are the relief of symptoms, the improvement of physiological parameters and quality of life, the decrease in depression, stress, and anxiety, the improvement of illness-related knowledge and self-help activity, and a change in beliefs. Conclusion: Self-help groups can be used as an intervention strategy to help people with chronic illness manage their own problems.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.466-478
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• 2014

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to explore and describe the experience of breast cancer self-help group activities in Korea. Methods: The data were collected via individual in-depth interviews with 8 women with breast cancer, who participated in self-help groups during 2012~2013. All interviews were audio-taped and transcribed, and they were analyzed using a phenomenological method. Results: Six theme clusters were identified. "Breakthrough toward survival" describes how the participants identified self-help groups and got involved in the activities. "Genuine comfort obtained by 'misery loves company' deals with the emotional relief and catharsis. "New life fully recharged" demonstrates the changed belief system and the joy for life and living. "Rebirth in family" deals with how family dynamics has been changed. "Societal change by raising collective consciousness" illustrates many activities to improve their rights and advocate employment issues. "Obstacles to the group harmony" illustrates the major difficulties including interpersonal conflicts the participants encountered during their participation. Conclusion: The results of the study showed that participating in self-help groups was mostly beneficial for women with breast cancer. Therefore, oncology professionals need to encourage them to participate in self-help groups and also need to provide professional support to self-help groups for their harmonious interpersonal relationships.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.307-315
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• 2009

Purpose: This study was done to assess the effects of a self-help intervention on clinical, lifestyle and psycho-social outcomes in patients with Type II diabetes. Methods: Eligible adults with Type II diabetes were randomly assigned to either the intervention group receiving the diabetes self-help or the control group receiving usual care. Of the 36 patients who completed the study, 15 were in the intervention group and 21 were in the control group. The self-help group consisted of six weekly sessions covering aspects of diabetes self-care and using continuing education, discussion, and structured social activities. Outcomes included changes in glycemic control, knowledge, self-management behaviors, diabetes-related self-efficacy, and health-related quality of life. Analysis of covariance was used to compare outcomes between the groups, adjusting for baseline measures. Results: After the six week intervention, significant improvements from the baseline were observed in the measurements of self-management behaviors, diabetes-related self-efficacy, and health-related quality of life for the intervention group. Conclusion: The findings provide preliminary evidence that a diabetes self-help group intervention can benefit diabetes patients in self-management behaviors, diabetes-related self-efficacy, and health-related quality of life. However, larger longitudinal studies are needed to determine the most efficacious self-management methods to sustain long-term glycemic control and psychological well-being.

• Journal of muscle and joint health
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.77-84
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• 2007

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to compare the effects of Tai Chi exercise, Tai Chi self help program, and self help management program on arthritic pain, stiffness, fatigue and difficulties in performing daily activities in patients with osteoarthritis. Method: The pre-post experimental design was utilized with convenient sampling at Public Health Centers. Total of 38 subjects agreed to participate in the study with the inclusion criteria of being diagnosed as osteoarthritis and no previous regular exercise. The 12 subjects were assigned to Tai Chi exercise group, 13 subjects to Tai Chi exercise combined with self help management program, and the other 13 to self help management program. Tai Chi exercise group performed exercise twice a week for one hour per each session. Tai Chi self help management group came to the class twice a week, one hour for Tai Chi exercise, and another hour for self help management program. The third group came to the class once a week for one hour to participate self help management program. At the completion of 6 week programs, 10 subjects from Tai Chi exercise, 9 from Tai Chi self help, another 10 from self help management groups completed the post-test measures. The data were analyzed by SPSSWIN 11.0. The homogeneity tests for three experimental groups were conducted by $X^2-test$, Fisher's exact test, Kruskal-Wallis test. The final analysis of the post-test measures was conducted by ANCOVA with fatigue, pain, stiffness, and difficulties in daily activities of the pretest measures as covariates. Results: The results were as follows. There were no significant differences in fatigue, pain, and difficulties of daily activities among three groups for the pretest measures. The score of arthritic stiffness was significantly different among groups after controlled for covariates, but the post-hoc tests showed no group differences. Conclusion: The nursing interventions applied for osteoarthritis patients have been previously tested to show the cost effectiveness of symptoms management of this population.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.20 no.8
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• pp.628-636
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to investigate how self-help group conducted by 25 dementia safety centers in Seoul correlated the stress and life satisfaction of primary care-givers of dementia patients. At 25 dementia safety centers, self-help groups were identified, and a survey was conducted for the care-givers of dementia patients participating in the self-help groups. SPSS 21.0 program was used for the collected data, and reliability was analyzed for stress level and satisfaction after the program. Multivariance analysis and one-way analysis were performed for the types of self-help groups, the frequency of attendance, and the number of meetings. The result were : first, the total stress felt by participants was close to 4 out of 5, and there was no significant difference in meeting type and attendance frequency, and only in the relationship between stress and the number of self-help groups(p<.05). Second, the satisfaction after self-help meetings was close to 4 out of 5, the meeting type and attendance frequency no significant difference, and only the number of self-help meetings showed a significant difference(p<.05). Third, there was a significant negative correlation in the relationship between stress and program satisfaction. As can be seen from the results, it can be seen that self-help groups have an effect on the stress of primary care-givers and the satisfaction level after meeting.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.571-580
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• 2006

Purpose: This study was to compare the effects among Tai-Chi exercise, aquatic Exercise, and a self-help program for knee osteoarthritis patients on symptoms of arthritis, muscle strength, balance, and difficulty of performing activities. Method: There were 50 final subjects50. A non-equivalent pretest-posttest design was used. The collected data was analyzed using SPSS for Window. One-way ANOVA and Scheffe's multiple comparison test were used 8weeks after each program. Result: There were significant differences in joint pain(p=.000), stillness (p=.001), knee extensor peak torque(p=.006), knee flexor(p=.002), and difficult of performing activity (p=.000), but there was no significant difference in balance(p=.648). The Tai-Chi group was significantly different from the self-help group for knee extensor peak torque, knee flexor and stiffness on Scheffe's multiple comparison tests. In addition, the Tai Chi group or aquatic group were significantly different from the self-help group for difficulty of performing activities(p<0.05). Conclusion: There are significant differences in the effects of the nursing intervention among the three groups. The Tai Chi group and aquatic group were significantly different from the self-help group. However, it seems that Tai-chi exercise may be more suitable than aquatic exercise in osteoarthritis exercise programs. Further studies with a longitudinal study are necessary to confirm the longer exercise period.

• Journal of muscle and joint health
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.46-54
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• 2009

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to compare the effects of the Tai Chi self-help program with a self-help program on pain, stiffness, physical functioning, and fear of falling in women with osteoarthritis. Method: Total of 82 women with Osteoarthritis recruited from outpatient clinics or community health centers were randomly assigned either to a Tai Chi self-help group or a self-help group. Thirty subjects in the Tai Chi self-help group and 39 in the self-help group completed posttest measures(pain, stiffness, physical functioning, and fear of falling) at 6 months. Results: After the 6 month study period, the subjects in the Tai Chi self-help group reported significantly less difficulties in performing daily activities(mean difference=-0.16 vs. 6.19 for the self-help), and less fear of falling(mean difference=-3.20 vs. 0.27 for the self-help) than those in the self-help group. There were no significantly differences in pain and stiffness between the groups. Conclusion: The Tai Chi combined with self-help program was more effective than the self-help only program in reducing difficulties in performing daily activities and fear of falling in women with Osteoarthritis. Whether these changes prevent fall episodes requires further study.

• Korean Journal of Family Social Work
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• no.62
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• pp.103-139
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• 2018

The purpose of this study was to explore the social workers' reflections developed during the participatory action research seeking practice methods in the community welfare center single parent self-help groups. Nine social workers and researchers sharing difficulties in the community welfare center single parent self-help group practice were involved in the participatory action research. We performed a circulatory research repeating 'plan-action-reflection-replan' cycles through ten sessions of research meetings including peer supervision in parallel with 4 self-help group practices. Multiple practice methods were derived as the result among which change in the social workers' perception was the key. We focused on the result that the social workers' perception was changed by reflections from participatory action research and the contents of the reflections were qualitatively analyzed using materials acquired during the study. As a result the following 5 themes were derived; 'recognition and worry on the lack of appropriate practice for the self-help group', 'specification of the social workers' role based on the changed perspective on the member-social worker relation', 'confirmation of the possibility of the concerned person initiated practice', 'detailed understanding of the single parent self-help group in the community welfare center', and 'renewed recognition of the development of the single parent self-help group in the community welfare center'. Based on these results, empowerment and reflection/reflective practice for single parent self-help group in the community welfare center were discussed.

• Journal of muscle and joint health
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.31-41
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• 2004

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to test the effects of self-help program offered to patients with arthritis. Method: A quasi-experimental study design with nonequivalent groups was employed for the study. The subjects in the experimental group were 19 residents of K City who visited K Health Center with chief complaints of osteoarthritis and who agreed to participate in the self-help program from January through April 2003. The subjects in the control group were 18 patients with arthritis, selected among patients on the waiting list of self-help program using random sampling method. Data related to pain, ADL, exercise self-efficacy, and knowledge about arthritis were obtained from both groups. SPSS Win 11.5 was used for the data analysis. Results: The results of this study were as follows. 1. The pain score and exercise self-efficacy of the study group were significantly higher than the control group. 2. The ADL score and knowledge about arthritis were not significantly higher than the control group. Conclusion: Based on the study results, self-help program was proved to be effective in alleviating pain, and promoting exercise self-efficacy related to arthritis.

• Journal of muscle and joint health
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.249-261
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• 1997

The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of short term selp-help education on pain, depression, self-efficacy, and quality of life in patients having chronic arthritis. This program was carried out 3 hrs per week for 4 weeks by 3 small groups among 10 patients. Research design was a quasi-experimental study of nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design. The subject of this study were 10 of experimental group and 10 of control group. Before and after 4 weeks program, quality of life, self-efficacy, depression, pain, ADL were measured. As a result, it was confirmed the self-help education was effective to increase quality of life, but self-efficacy, depression, pain, ADL were not improved. This suggests the replicate study to examine the effect of self-help education with the large samples of subjects having chronic arthritis.