Empowerment among breast cancer survivors using an online peer support community

Abstract

Objectives: Breast cancer (BC) impacts the patient’s quality of life. Peer support can provide emotional understanding as well as enhance information access, social support, and coping strategies, aligning with empowerment. Comunitats is an online peer support community addressed to BC survivors, involving healthcare professionals. This study aims to explore how participation in Comunitats promotes empowerment, and which variables are related to it. Methods: 121 women diagnosed with BC were included in Comunitats. Emotional distress, post-traumatic growth and empowerment were assessed at inclusion and three months later. Correlations were used to guide linear regression analysis to identify which variables are able to predict greater empowerment outcomes. Results: Empowerment assessment indicated that participants felt empowered by their involvement in Comunitats. The empowerment outcomes more commonly experienced were 'being better informed' and 'improved acceptance of the illness'. 'Exchanging information' and 'finding recognition' were the strongest experienced empowerment processes. Conclusion: Involvement in Comunitatsenhances empowerment in BC survivors. Empowering processes within the community partially predict overall empowerment outcomes. Practical Implications: Empowerment positively impacts self-care autonomy, self-efficacy, and treatment adherence, promoting healthier lifestyles and enhanced treatment outcomes.