Biomedical subjects

J H Schopler

Publications and source records attributed to J H Schopler.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1998

Promoting breast cancer screening in rural, African American communities: the "science and art" of community health promotion.

Implementing community health promotion programs can be a daunting task for social workers. Aside from the practical skills necessary for engaging diverse groups, it requires an understanding of the complex interplay of several theoretical constructs. Using an eight-year breast cancer prevention project, the North Carolina Breast Cancer Screening Program, as a case study, this article describes both the "science and art" of community health promotion. The article provides examples illustrating the "art" of generating participation by both lay and professional communities and concludes with guidelines for social workers who plan to conduct their own community health promotion programs.

Black or African American↗

PubMed1997

Connecting group members through telephone and computer groups.

Telephone conference calls and computer-assisted groups are innovative means of offering health and mental health services. This article reviews the practice literature on the use of technology-based groups and presents the results of a survey of group practitioners that focused on their experiences with telephone and computer groups, their knowledge and comfort levels with these groups, and their perspectives on the benefits and problems of using technology in group practice. Benefits of using this technology included increased accessibility, convenience, and anonymity; problems were decreased cues, technological issues, and group process difficulties. Implications of using telephone and computer technology for group practice, particularly in health settings, are discussed.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

PubMed1994

Negative experiences in support groups.

Although the benefits of support groups are well documented in the literature, little attention has been given to possible negative effects. A review of the literature related to support groups, negative experiences in groups, and social support, as well as personal accounts of members and practitioners, affirm the importance of considering the negative experiences in support groups. In addition, this material provides a base for the specification of potential problematic group conditions and negative outcomes and points to issues in obtaining information from respondents about negative factors. Findings from mailed questionnaires given to practitioners leading cancer support groups indicate the nature of the negative experiences in groups that these practitioners had led or heard about. Implications of these findings for prevention and intervention are discussed.

Humans↗

PubMed1993

Support groups as open systems: a model for practice and research.

Despite the increasing of use of support groups to respond to the needs of people dealing with crises, life transitions, and chronic conditions, there is no conceptual framework to guide practice and research. On the basis of a review of the literature, this article distinguishes support groups from self-help and treatment groups. It then proposes an open systems model for understanding the factors that affect support groups, for guiding interventions, and for evaluating their outcomes. Four conceptual dimensions are described: (1) environmental conditions (resources and constraints), (2) participant group characteristics (size, composition, and technology), (3) group conditions (goals, structural form, and development), and (4) outcomes (positive and negative effects for members, leaders, and organizations; group problems; and ethical and legal issues). Findings from a pilot study of support group practice based on this framework are presented and discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1993

Ecological analysis of the first generation of community clinical oncology programs.

OBJECTIVE: An ecological framework is proposed for assessing factors important to consider in allocating funds to promote sound performance of interorganizational programs. DATA SOURCE/STUDY SETTING: This framework is used to examine the first generation of Community Clinical Oncology Programs (CCOPs) funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) from 1983-1986 to coordinate clinical research activity at the local level. The research reported is based on secondary data collected for the Community Cancer Care Evaluation at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. STUDY DESIGN: A repeated measures design was used to analyze differences in the level and patterns of CCOP productivity, a measure of the number of patients enrolled on NCI-approved Phase III trials. The predictive dimensions include (1) measures of environmental inputs (population density, organizational dominance, professional support, NCI funding); (2) measures of organizational inputs (number of hospitals, number of staff, number of physicians, NCI experience, clinical research experience); and (3) structural measures (functional specialization, administrative concentration). Predicted relationships were assessed using general linear models procedures. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS: Data obtained from NCI files were supplemented by interviews with NCI personnel and published statistics. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Funding level, clinical research experience, and number of staff are the most important predictors of patient enrollment. Clinical research experience has a positive relationship with patient enrollment and a negative association with changes in enrollment. The reversal is explained by the influence of the CCOPs that had the greatest amount of clinical research experience at the beginning of the program. CONCLUSIONS: The ecological approach provides a useful framework for understanding factors that should be considered in funding interorganizational programs and promoting their development. Most importantly, results suggest that a somewhat different approach is needed to initiate programs rather than to expand existing programs.

Clinical Protocols↗