A Comparative study of Friendship Therapy Groups for Thais with Colorectal Cancer and Colostomies

Abstract

                  Patientswith cancer need strong social support to help them deal with life-threateningaspects of their illness and in Thailand The Friendship Therapy Group wasinitiated for this purpose in 2005. This comparative descriptive study exploredand compared the perceived stress, stress appraisal, coping, and quality oflife of patients with colorectal cancer and colostomies who participated inthis Group compared to those who did not. Of 87 patients with colostomies, 30 participated and 57 did not. Datawere collected in three hospitals via six instruments: the Personal InformationForm, the Perceived Stress Scale, the Stress Appraisal Index, theFunctional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Colorectal Cancer, the Waysof Coping Questionnaire, and the SocialActivity Participation and Evaluation Tool; and analyzed through descriptivestatistics, and MANOVA. Results showed that there were no significantdifferences in variables between groups. The mutually supportive activity wasthe group activity that they mostly preferred and thought it was helpful. Other activities may have been less relatedto mutual support; therefore the purpose of those activities of truly mutualsupport should not be lost. Understanding the stress, coping, and QOL, of thesegroups will be useful to help nurses guide the development of futureinterventions for these patients.