Peer Influence On Caregivers' Care Experience ——A Case Study Of Retinoblastoma Disease

At present,with the awakening of personal self-awareness and the popularity of online social media.Patients suffering from serious diseases and their caregivers will actively or passively get to know and communicate with people who have the same disease experience,namely "companions",and then form groups centered on specific diseases,which become an important social network in the process of disease treatment and rehabilitation.Many studies have proved that peers can exert positive influence,such as peer support and peer education.However,how peer support and education occur,and whether peer influence can also bring about other aspects,these questions are worthy of further investigation.In this study,caregivers of children with retinoblastoma were studied.Qualitative research was used to collect information about caregivers' interactions with their peers after diagnosis of the disease through in-depth interviews and participatory observation.The findings are as follows: First,in the face of similar pressures and dilemmas caused by the same disease,caregivers of sick children will actively interact and communicate with their peers,thus forming a social network centered on the disease.The social network will transfer experience,information and other resources,which is convenient for caregivers to seek help,help and self-help from their peers.Secondly,caregivers' care experience,such as caregivers' care behavior,emotional cognition and important interpersonal interaction patterns,will be influenced or even shaped by peer experience and information in the social network,and thus undergo corresponding adjustments and changes.Thirdly,peer influences caregivers' care experience in both direct and indirect ways.The effects are both positive and negative.Among them,the indirect way is mainly the caregivers' personal observation learning,while the negative effect is more caused by social comparison.Finally,this paper points out that medical social workers should attach importance to the perspective of relationalism in theory,respect patients' subjective initiative,and be sensitive to social comparison and its possible negative effects.In practice,we can carry out online and offline group activities,supervise peer volunteers and provide case management and other intervention measures.This article to retinoblastoma disease as the center,present a child caregivers in daily life and the impact of peer interactions and,deepened the understanding of the peer interaction,designs for the medical personnel and medical social workers and professional services to provide an empirical basis,to promote the professional development of the local medical social work.