Algtewi, E. orcid.org/0000-0001-9751-0434, Owens, J. and Baker, S.R. orcid.org/0000-0002-2861-451X (2017) Online support groups for head and neck cancer and health-related quality of life. Quality of Life Research, 26 (9). pp. 2351-2362. ISSN 0962-9343
Abstract
PURPOSE: To investigate the association between using online support groups (OSGs) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and the psychosocial factors that may influence this association among individuals with head and neck (H&N) cancer. METHOD: A sample of 199 persons with H&N cancer using four OSGs completed an online questionnaire using six pre-validated measures for social network, self-efficacy, anxiety and depression, adjustment, empowerment and quality of life. In addition, socio-demographic as well as illness-related and OSGs-related information was collected. RESULTS: Participants who had better HRQoL had been using OSGs for a longer time than those who had worse HRQoL (B = 0.07, p < 0.05). Depression and adjustment were the only direct mediators in this association, whereas self-efficacy, anxiety and empowerment appeared as indirect mediators. CONCLUSION: Participation in OSGs was found to be associated to better HRQoL either directly or indirectly through decreasing depression, anxiety and the negative adjustment behaviours and increasing self-efficacy and empowerment of the users. The study presented a potential model of pathways linking OSG use and HRQoL for those with H&N cancer. However, the model needs to be tested in future longitudinal studies and the associations proposed need to be explored in greater detail.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author(s) 2017. Open Access - This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. |
Keywords: | Adjustment; Empowerment; Head and neck cancer; Online support; Quality of life |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health (Sheffield) > School of Clinical Dentistry (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 05 May 2017 09:12 |
Last Modified: | 20 Jul 2023 14:55 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Springer Verlag |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1007/s11136-017-1575-8 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:115989 |