Adolescents with sickle cell disease: Determinants of support group attendance and satisfaction

Support groups have the potential to mitigate some of the developmental ann condition-specific psychological ann social issues common to sickle cell d isease (SCD), yet little is known about how adolescents with SCD view and u se these groups. As part of a larger study, 79 adolescents with SCD complet ed questionnaires assessing reasons for attending or not attending support groups, level and type of help received from group participation, group sat isfaction, and attendance. This article reports on findings descriptively P rofessionals carl enhance their effectiveness as providers of social and me ntal health sen,ices by understanding the role that support groups play in the overall well-being of adolescents with SCD.