Article Analysis Essay on the Effects of Introducing Peer Support to Young People With a Chronic Illness

Introduction

The article "The effects of introducing Peer Support to Young People with a Chronic Illness," clearly elaborates some of the common factors surrounding the behavioral responses to chronic illnesses by the various peer groups. It includes well-organized extensive research which incorporates inferences in support of the main idea. The study is based on a real assessment done on a hospital-based group support program (Chronic Illness Peer Support (ChIPS), located in Sydney Australia. It is depicted that peer support programs have been a progressively popular manner of curbing the adverse effects that come with a chronic illness for adolescents. Other peer groups are also critically assessed but not as in-depth as those on the adolescents. This paper seeks to provide a critical review on some of the significant matters presented by the article as mentioned above.

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Type of Research

The research by Kewis, Klineberg, Towns, Moore and Steinbeck was based on qualitative findings. They did qualitative interviews and gathered data from focus groups. According to Atkinson, Page, Wells, Milat & Wilson, discussions and focus group are the best ways to get research information because of their personified manner and their extensiveness which allows the gathering of more information for participants (2015). A qualified researcher is always able to gauge the respondent's answer and determine whether to incorporate it in the research or not (Nutbeam, D., McGill & Premkumar, 2017). There may also a clearly outlined mode of asking questions within a designated time to make the interview more detailed and well-organized. As in this case, the focus group had various members including, the new ChIPS associates, their parents, the older members who had been a part of the ChIPS program for two years or more as well as the coordinators including those in the past and the present. The including of expert's opinion in the research increases its validity as it shows that the study is truth based and is not found on rumors.

Also, the excellent organization of the findings makes the research a profound tool to use in any inferences regarding the effects of chronic illnesses to young people. The results were combined and organized into various criteria including the personal growth and development, the program attendance, the program outcomes, social connection and the personal growth and development on the members of the ChIPS association. The study as well incorporates the use of questionnaires administered to members Chips, but there were no considerable changes in self-esteem or distress noticed between the commencement and the end of the precise research period. In general, it is indicated that the ChIPS support group programs achieved its objective of introducing young people with chronic illnesses to the excellent program. The article records evidence of the initial personal development and growth and development for the young people who enrolled in the ChIPS program. Also, it is presented that there is a possibility of increased social connection through the ongoing immersion in the ChIPS activities.

Presentation of Facts in the Article

The research was relevant in finding out the truth connected with how people with chronic illnesses respond to their diseases. Most people diagnosed with chronic illnesses usually experience adversative psychosocial outcomes of their condition and the process of treatment. According to Shattuck & Muehlenbein, people diagnosed with chronic illnesses often achieve lesser development milestone than their healthy peers (2015). This is because they have hurdles adjusting to their sickness and experience various derailments when managing their conditions and coping up with the health care procedures. They are more vulnerable to the contraction of anxiety and depressive symptoms as compared to their healthy counterparts (Sweeney, Danaher, & McColl-Kennedy, 2015). Social isolation also comes as an adversary associated with people with chronic illnesses as they will be mostly alienated from social activities and even schools because of their illness. Kewis, Klineberg, Towns, Moore and Steinbeck present that eventually, young people recognized with chronic illnesses in their childhood usually have lower chances of finding employment, participation in higher education, marrying, leaving their parental homes as well as becoming parents as compared to their healthy counterparts.

There is a need to counter some of the challenges mentioned above, and this will require strategic approaches. The article by Kewis, Klineberg, Towns, Moore and Steinbeck clearly depicts effective strategies that could be used in dealing with the adverse effects caused by chronic illnesses (2016). Even though the problems caused by chronic illnesses cannot be wholly eliminated it, is essential to consider some of the factors that can be used to counter with the situation (Giles-Corti, Vernez-Moudon, Reis, Turrell, Dannenberg, Badland & McKlveen, Myers, & Herman, 2015). It is proposed that timely and efficient psychosocial and biomedical support would be useful in limiting the adverse effects caused by chronic illnesses and also reduce the disruption that the affected people usually experience (Krauskopf, Federman, Kale, Sigel, Martynenko, O'Conor & Wisnivesky, 2015). Peer support is one key factor proposed in dealing with the adverse effects experienced by people with chronic illnesses. The integration of support groups is one of the efficient modes used to counter some significant challenges in the health care system. Peer group support is defined as the support given by the experiential knowledge of specific behavior to a person with the same characteristics or stressor, and it is mainly offered by experts in that particular field (Owen, 2016). Also, peer group support is effective in making sure that the people who are negatively affected by chronic illnesses can gain and develop the social skills endorsed by the peer group as they are provided with a non-threatening social context. Each one of them within the peer group will be able to share their experiences, and this will be therapeutic to them in some way (Perry, Gallagher & Duffield, 2015). The article depicts that young people who participate in the peer groups usually have increased benefits from their participation, since they will have increased knowledge about their disease, hence gain improved treatment techniques and eventually decreased symptoms of the illness, reduced anxiety and increase in their rates of socialization.

The collection of qualitative data from various multiple perspectives provided a profound understanding of the factors that aggregate a young person's participation in the ChIPS program. The study as well contributes to the growing group of literature that evaluate the peer groups in various ways. Firstly, it integrates practical assessment methods by using data collected from multiple groups. Secondly, it examines an ongoing program hence adding to the validity of the data and information reported, and lastly, it is presented as the first assessment of ChIPS through detailed research which includes both quantitative and qualitative methods of collecting data.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the article is a robust tool in finding out the behavioral responses by various people to chronic illnesses. It gives a detailed exploration of the reaction of multiple individuals to chronic illness. These parties include patients, healthcare organizations, the patients themselves as well as other concerned peer groups. It is depicted that there are significant benefits of the participation of people with chronic illnesses in the various peer group programs.

References

Atkinson, J. A., Page, A., Wells, R., Milat, A., & Wilson, A. (2015). A modeling tool for policy analysis to support the design of efficient and effective policy responses for complex public health problems. Implementation Science, 10(1), 26.

Lewis, P., Klineberg, E., Towns, S., Moore, K., & Steinbeck, K. (2016). The Effects of Introducing Peer Support to Young People with a Chronic Illness.

Shattuck, E. C., & Muehlenbein, M. P. (2015). Human sickness behavior: Ultimate and proximate explanations. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 157(1), 1-18.

Nutbeam, D., McGill, B., & Premkumar, P. (2017). Improving health literacy in community populations: a review of progress. Health promotion international, 33(5), 901-911.

Giles-Corti, B., Vernez-Moudon, A., Reis, R., Turrell, G., Dannenberg, A. L., Badland, H., ... &

McKlveen, J. M., Myers, B., & Herman, J. P. (2015). The medial prefrontal cortex: coordinator of autonomic, neuroendocrine and behavioral responses to stress. Journal of Neuroendocrinology, 27(6), 446-456.

Krauskopf, K., Federman, A. D., Kale, M. S., Sigel, K. M., Martynenko, M., O'Connor, R., ... & Wisnivesky, J. P. (2015). Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease illness and medication beliefs are associated with medication adherence. COPD: Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, 12(2), 151-164.

Owen, N. (2016). City planning and population health: a global challenge. The Lancet, 388(10062), 2912-2924.

Perry, L., Gallagher, R., & Duffield, C. (2015). The health and health behaviors of Australian metropolitan nurses: an exploratory study. BMC Nursing, 14(1), 45.

Sweeney, J. C., Danaher, T. S., & McColl-Kennedy, J. R. (2015). Customer effort in value co-creation activities: improving quality of life and behavioral intentions of health care customers. Journal of Service Research, 18(3), 318-335.