Stress and Survival of Illness: A Study of Disability-Work Groups and Their Effect on Employee Productivity and Weil-Being

Abstract

This paper explores how nursing therapy in a disability-work group can increase employees' feelings of psychological well-being and productivity, after surviving a serious illness. The theories of survival, stress, loss, and the grief process are applied to the human response to illness, and its effect on self-esteem and productivity. The paper examines how the process of change, involved in the recovery of illness, is facilitated by a structured support group in an occupational health setting. Holistic health concepts and existentialist philosophy along with group dynamics form the basis in developing nursing strategies for intervention. A pilot study is proposed to study the actual cost benefits to American corporations. It is hypothesized that employees will improve with regular participation in a support group compared to non-membership.

References

Antonovsky

(1980). Health, stress and coping. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Bauman

Brint

Piper

Wright

(1978). The holistic health handbook. Berkeley, CA: And/Or Press.

Belodeau

C.B.

Hackett

T.P.

(1971). Issues raised in a group setting by patients recovering from myocardial infarction. American Journal of Psychiatry, 128, 73–78.

Booth

(1979). Psychobiological aspects of “spontaneous” regressions of cancer (pp. 99–107). In Garfield

(Ed.) Stress and survival. St, Louis: C.V. Mosby Co.

Clemence Madeleine Sister . (1966, March). Existentialism: A philosophy of commitment, American Journal of Nursing, pp. 500–505.

Cousins

(1979). Anatomy of an illness (pp. 165–174). In Garfield

(Ed.) Stress and survival. St. Louis: C.V. Mosby Co.

Davis

H.M.

(1982). Stress implications in corporate settings. Address delivered to the New York Academy of Medicine, January 27.

Des Pres

(1976). The survivor. New York: Oxford University Press.

Dimsdale

(1978). Coping: Every man's war. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 32, 402–408.

10.

Dubree

Vogelpohl

(1980, November). When hope dies — so might the patient. American Journal of Nursing, pp. 2046–2048.

11.

Garfield

(Ed.) (1979). On life in extremity: Psychosocial elements of survival (pp, 3–7), In Stress and survival. St. Louis: C.V. Mosby.

12.

Hackett

Cassem

, (1979). Psychological management of the myocardial infarction patient (pp 146–153). In Garfield

(Ed.) Stress and survival. St. Louis: C.V. Mosby Co.

13.

Hoff

L.A.

(1978). People in crisis understanding and helping. (City) California: Wesley Publishing Co.

14.

Horowitz

(1976), Stress response syndrome. New York: Jason Aronson.

15.

Kogan

(1979). A therapist encounters the possibility of an early death (pp. 187–190). St. Louis: The C.V. Mosby Co. In Garfield

(Ed.) Stress and survival.

16.

Kubler-Ross

(1969). On death and dying, New York; Macmillan.

17.

Limandri

Bogle

(1978, January), Instituting hope, American Journal of Nursing, pp. 78–80.

18.

Marram

(1978). The group approach in nursing practice. St. Louis: C.V. Mosby.

19.

Miller

J.F.

(1983). Coping with chronic illness overcoming powerlessness, Philadelphia: F.A. Davis Co.

20.

O'Connell

(1980. September). Death sentence: An invitation to life, American Journal of Nursing, pp. 1646–1649.

21.

Parsell

(1974, April). Cancer patients help each other, American Journal of Nursing, pp. 650–651.

22.

Pelletier

K.R.

(1977). Mind as healer mind as slayer. A holistic approach to preventing stress disorders. New York: Dell Publishing Co.

23.

Smith

(1981). Survival of illness. New York: Springer Publishing Co., Inc.

24.

Tillich

(1952). The courage to be. New Haven: Yale University Press.

25.

Travelbee

(1972, December). To find meaning in illness. Nursing 72, pp. 6–8.

26.

Yalom

(1975), The theory and practice of group psychotherapy (2nd Ed.). New York: Basic Books inc.

27.

Yalom

Greaves

(1977), Group therapy with the terminally ill. American Journal of Psychiatry, 134, 396–400.