The Post Polio Support Group helps hundreds of people across the Republic of Ireland cope with the late effects of this serious disease. Most polio survivors are now in their later years, and are spread across the country – some in very rural areas. Would this particular demographic embrace the technology of conference-calling support groups? You bet they would...
Acute polio is now thankfully rare in the developed world – but this is a relatively recent state of affairs. Effective vaccination became widespread fewer than fifty years ago, meaning that many middle-aged or elderly people still live with the effects of the disease that they contracted in childhood – it is estimated that there are 7,500 survivors of polio living in the Republic of Ireland alone.
“Thankfully,” reflects Paula Lahiff, “young people now only think of it in terms of a vaccination, and medical students learn about it from a historical point of view.”
"FOCUSES ON MAINTAINING THE INDEPENDENCE AND DIGNITY OF SURVIVORS"
Paula is a polio survivor herself, and acts as the Company Secretary for the Post Polio Support Group – a national voluntary organisation that focuses on maintaining the independence and dignity of survivors and providing the support that they need.
“As we get older, our muscles tire quite quickly and our energy levels aren’t good,” she explains matter-of-factly. “And then before you know it we’re back to using mobility aids again. This can be quite devastating for someone who thought they were living with a stable level of disability. Emotionally it can be difficult too.”
"TO REACH OUT AND INCLUDE SURVIVORS WHO ARE UNABLE TO MEET UP IN PERSON"
Paula radiates positivity when you speak to her, and it is immediately easy to understand what an asset she must be to a charity whose key aim is to provide support. Her enthusiasm is palpable as she talks about one of the innovative offerings the organisation has introduced – including telephone support groups, which she calls the ‘PhoneChat Project,’ to reach out and include survivors who are unable for one reason or another, to meet up in person.
“We found that we weren’t getting to everybody,” she recalls. “Perhaps people couldn’t get out because of difficulties with mobility, or didn’t like going out at night. So we started off with two pilot groups, and now we have plans for two more, as it’s going very well. We have two ladies who act as leaders, or I can step in if required.”
"THESE GROUPS PROVIDE A SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL CONNECTION"
These groups, hosted by Community Network, provide a social and emotional connection for those who might otherwise be alone. Paula and her colleagues have watched closely as the groups have evolved, and have found that whilst both have been successful, there’s no single way that a support group is certain to develop.
“Of our initial two groups, one has matured into more of a friendship group, if you like,” she says. “The people gelled very quickly, and what was a support session became more of a chat after a while. They send each other birthday cards and the like, and if one member has to go into hospital the leader will make sure that everybody supports them.”
"THE TELEPHONE SUPPORT GROUP IS A LIFELINE"
“The second group have less in common as people,” she continues. “But arguably this group could be said to do even more good. Two members are elderly men from a rural area, and they are frequently not in the best of form – they can be in a lot of pain and have been hospitalised from time to time. They say that the telephone support group is a lifeline for them. On the other hand, two other members are based in the city – but what you must realise is that people can feel very isolated in the city as well.”
"NO EXAGGERATION TO CALL THE RESULTS AN UNQUALIFIED SUCCESS"
The PPSG carried out an end-of-year evaluation on these groups, with a view to getting some formal feedback from users. “We wanted to know were they happy, was everything working right, and would they like the opportunity to bow out?” Paula explains. It’s no exaggeration to call the results of the exercise an ‘unqualified success’ – with a 100% response rate, and just one person deciding not to continue – because she was now able to attend a social group near where she lived.
With this experience behind her, Paula has some good advice for any charities seeking to put a toe in the water of the telephone support group concept – starting with identifying good group leaders.
“Get the leaders first. Recognise that this can be a difficult job as it is a commitment – they have to be available at the same time every fortnight, in our case. “I’ve been so lucky with our group leaders,” Paula reflects cheerfully. “With polio survivors – well, we’ve all been through it. You speak to people and they know where you’re coming from.”
Paula’s other main pointer concerns recruiting people for the groups themselves – don’t be put off if there is some resistance at first. “Initially it was quite difficult to find people to take part,” she recalls. “But we kept on, and once the word got around it went from there. We featured it in our newsletter, it was spoken about at our conference, and we have staff who visit people in their homes – they were talking about it also.” So the advice is to persevere? “Exactly!”
"USE TELEPHONE CONFERENCING TECHNOLOGY TO SUPPORT ISOLATED PEOPLE IN THEIR HOMES"
“And there is a small amount of people management involved. For example, we like to know a day in advance if people will be unable to participate so that we know not to call that person. When that’s fallen down, I’ve had to have a friendly word just to make sure the person concerned remembers next time. Just little things like that.” Paula recommends following their example and supplying an office telephone number for participants, to maintain the privacy of the group leaders’ personal phone numbers.
The Post Polio Support Group is a wonderful, much-needed charity – and an ideal ‘fit’ for Community Network’s mission: to use telephone conferencing technology to support isolated people in their homes. Paula is extremely enthusiastic about Community Network’s service from the initial training to the calls themselves - all provided at no cost to the charity.
“The support we get from Community Network is just fantastic. The training we had with Safia was very good, and they are so professional – we’ve had to change times occasionally and they always fit in with us, which is much appreciated. They really are very helpful.”
