Ethnicity and participation in cancer self-help groups

Investigations of the benefits of membership of a cancer self-help group have suggested that it leads to improved sense of support, increased ability to deal with life-events, and decreased anxiety, confusion, depression and helplessness. However, some evidence suggests that people from black and ethnic groups are less likely to join a cancer self-help group. The main aims of the reported study were: to explore possible reasons why people from some ethnic groups have not participated in self-help to the same extent as the rest of the community; and to identify ways in which participation of people from ethnic groups can be increased.

A qualitative interview-based study of 68 people active in self-help was carried out as a partnership between an academic institution and a community organisation.

A thematic analysis of the interview transcripts identified three main aspects of the value of being a member of a self-help group, regardless of interviewees' self-identified ethnicity: forming a sense of togetherness, learning from one other, and developing mutuality. We identify a number of reasons that discourage or encourage people from black and ethnic groups to join cancer self-help groups.

We discuss some limits, identified by interviewees, that affect development of feelings of togetherness and mutuality and we conclude with some brief recommendations about widening participation in cancer self-help.