AN ONCOLOGY VOLUNTEER SUPPORT ORGANIZATION - THE BENEFITS AND FIT WITHIN THE HEALTH-CARE SYSTEM

Psychosocial support programs and organizations provide a range of res ources to cancer patients and their families. In spite of well-documen ted research attesting to their positive impact, such organizations ar e often not well integrated into the medical system. This paper examin es the benefits to patients and families of using Hope and Cope, a vol untary support system. Also, it explores the ways in which these benef its may relate to the health care team. A total of 121 patient users a nd non-users of Hope and Cope and 50 family members were surveyed abou t their specific needs and how they were met. The users and non-users assessed their needs for information and emotional support differently : those with greater needs utilized the resources and were satisfied w ith the outcomes, while those with fewer needs did not. The need for e motional support significantly discriminated users of Hope and Cope fr om non-users. Participants saw the program as helping them manage side effects, handle medical treatment, and know which questions to ask th eir physicians. This study concludes that patients appear to choose wi sely according to their needs and that organizations such as Hope and Cope help. However, questions are raised about the relationship betwee n the health care team and voluntary support programs. How and when in formation about resources is conveyed to patients continues to be prob lematic. Responses to these concerns may lead to strategies to increas ed collaboration between oncology volunteer support services and the h ealth care team.